


Mistakes were made

by justafujoshi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Background Relationships, Everyone Is Gay, M/M, Pining, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2018-09-23 05:17:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9642254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justafujoshi/pseuds/justafujoshi
Summary: Iwaizumi Hajime had his plate full: he had Prefect duties, Quidditch training, the OWL exams, and not to mention that annoying, unrequited crush on his best friend, Oikawa Tooru.aka another Haikyuu Hogwarts AU nobody asked for.





	1. Realization

**Author's Note:**

> An overused, cliched idea struck at 2 am in the morning. Am not the most eloquent writer in the world, but please give me a chance and please please no flaming, thanks! :D

“Bloody hell.” 

This was the moment he realized how utterly screwed he was. 

He was in a cramped cubicle, perched on the toilet lid and feeling like life had given him a bitch slap to the face. 

Iwaizumi Hajime had realized his crush on his male, straight childhood friend, Oikawa Tooru.

\--

Hajime took a deep breath, reminded himself to act normal, before sliding open the door to his compartment on the train.

Upon reentering, Hajime saw that his two friends had somehow managed to wreck the whole place in his absence. The curtains were ripped, one of their trunks lay open with its contents strewn everywhere that Hajime was desperately praying wasn’t his. 

“Oikawa, Kuroo.” Hajime said, trying to reign in his temper “I just left for ten minutes.” 

“He started it!” Oikawa said immediately, pointing to Kuroo and pouting. If Hajime hadn’t known better, he wouldn’t believe that these two were fifteen-years-old; with the way they’re acting.

One of whom Hajime had also unwittingly fell for

“I was stating the truth.” Kuroo punctuated with a pointed glare at Oikawa, who huffed and stuck out his tongue. Hajime looked back and forth between them, trying to glean anything from their expressions. Eventually, since none of them were willing to spill the beans, he gave up, throwing his hands in the air.

“Oikawa, you’re a fucking prefect for Merlin’s sake. Act like one! Kuroo, you’re Quidditch Captain, do you want your team’s respect or not?” Hajime had half a mind to deduct house points from Slytherin, but decided against it. 

The two Slytherins bowed their heads.

“Sorry, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa said meekly. Hajime imagined that if Oikawa had dog-ears, they’d flop down against his head in dejection. Hajime shook his head, harshly stomping down on any feelings of fondness for the brunette that threatened to rise. 

“Well, to be fair, I goaded him. Sorry Iwaizumi, Oikawa.” Kuroo said, his tone apologetic. 

"Whatever, let's clean up," Hajime said gruffly.

The door opened just as Hajime finished his sentence, and a familiar Gryffindor with silver spiky hair stepped in. “Hey hey hey!”

“Bokuto, my man!” Kuroo exclaimed 

“Where have you been?” Oikawa quipped, “we didn’t see you at the platform. Thought you had missed the train!” 

“I was with Akaashi!” Bokuto declared proudly “then I decided to drop by and spend some time with you guys. Looking at the state of the compartment, it looks like you were having fun without me.” Bokuto actually looked scandalized.

“Fun my ass, I just went to the bathroom for a few minutes, and these two idiots managed to get into a duel of some sort… By the way,” Hajime added, bending down to pick up a pair of neon pink underwear by his feet “who does this belong to?” 

Oikawa burst into giggles.

“…Me.” Kuroo said after a moment of silence “I didn’t buy that! Mum did!” He quickly defended himself when three pairs of eyes shot him a judgmental stare “I kept it ‘cause it was comfy!”

Once they had finished helping Kuroo repack his trunk, the four sat down for a game of exploding snap, digging into snacks Bokuto had bought from the Trolley Witch. The sun had dipped into the horizon in the middle of a grueling Wizard’s Chess mini-tournament, and by the time the train skidded to a stop at Hogsmeade, there was not a single beam of light left in the sky.

After sitting on the bumpy carriage ride through the heavy rain, trudging up endless flights of stairs, and going through the tedious sorting, Iwaizumi was tired and famished. He couldn’t wait for Professor McGonagall to finish her welcoming speech so he could stuff his face. 

“…Finally, as you all should know, the Forbidden Forrest is strictly out-of-bounds to all students. Now, I’m sure you’re all very hungry, so let the feast begin.” 

In the blink of an eye, the empty crockery was filled with a wide array of food: from roast beef to mashed potatoes to salad – anything one can ever dream of. 

“Yesss! This is what I’ve been waiting for!” Bokuto whooped. Hajime grunted in agreement, his mouth already full of chicken. 

The hall erupted into mindless chatter as students caught up with each other over the sumptuous feast. Hajime was in the middle of a heated discussion about the new Holy Harpies’ Seeker when Nearly Headless Nick appeared suddenly, startling the first years. 

“Hello!” Greeted Nick “It’s nice to see all of you again. Oh, first years! How exciting, welcome to Gryffindor!” Nick waved cheerily before floating off to join his fellow ghosts.

With the disappearance of the house ghost, Hajime was about to resume his conversation when Bokuto tapped on his shoulder “I got something to tell ya.” 

Looking up from his plate, Hajime nodded for Bokuto to continue. 

“Akaashi and I are dating.” 

Hajime blinked. “Akaashi as in Akaashi Keiji, the Ravenclaw Beater?” 

“That’s the one.” 

Hajime blinked. “Wait, you never told me you’re gay!”

“Didn’t I? I guess I thought it was kind of obvious...do you have a problem with that?” Bokuto asked cautiously. Hajime then realized that he must have sounded accusing, and quickly backtracked.

"No, I don't." Hajime said, giving his friend a genuine smile "I'm happy for you. Since when?"

“Over the summer. We met up during the holidays and well, one thing turned to another, and before I knew it he asked me to be his boyfriend.” 

“Congrats mate.” Hajime held out his fist to which Bokuto responded with a fist bump. "I never thought that you'd be the first one to go between the four of us, no offense."

“It’s alright, me neither. I thought for sure it’d be Oikawa since he has this really huge fan club in school, or maybe Kuroo. They’re both really popular among the female and male population.” 

The entrée vanished, replaced shortly by dessert. 

“Say…” Hajime said as he cut himself a slice of pie “are Oikawa and Kuroo gay as well?” 

“Dunno,” Bokuto answered after taking a swig of pumpkin juice “As far as I know, they’re both straight. Kuroo might be bi, though." 

"Oh," Hajime said, clamping down on his disappointment before it could show. "I see."

Hajime absentmindedly chewed on some honey pie, ignoring Bokuto’s questioning look. It would be some time before he became as brave as Bokuto when it comes to his sexuality, and maybe one day, he could muster the courage to confess. For now however, he needed time to come to terms with it.

After the desserts had vanished, they sung the school song (or rather, murmured it). Then, it was off to their respective dormitories. When the fifth year female prefect, Michimiya Yui, stood up to lead the first years to their dorm, Hajime took that as his cue to do tail the line of eleven-year-olds to make sure that none of them got lost.

\--

The first two weeks of school passed by in a whirlwind of lessons and homework, and by the time Friday evening rolled around, the fifth years, including Hajime, looked like they were about to drop dead. 

“Merlin, if 5th year is going to be like this, I want to drop out of school.” Kuroo groaned, sinking into a seat at the Gryffindor table next to a sleeping Bokuto. 

“At least you don’t have prefect duties. God, those are horrible. I’m missing out on so much beauty sleep.” Oikawa complained, sliding into the empty space next to Hajime. 

“Both of you shut up," Hajime said without any bite as he reread the same page for the 2nd time. He was so tired that none of the words were registering in his head, and he was this close to setting his book on fire. Both Kuroo and Oikawa looked no better, judging from the stress lines on their faces.

“What ‘cha reading Iwa-chan?” Oikawa piped up, leaning closer to Hajime. The brunette then laid his head on Hajime’s shoulders, soft hair brushing against his neck

Hajime felt his heart speed up. Hajime didn’t mind the physical contact – he was used to those, especially from Oikawa- but throw romantic feelings into the mix, and it’s a whole different story.

“Vanishing spells," Hajime said, trying to maintain his normal tone. He felt Oikawa curse against his shoulder. "I heard it's one of the hardest spells in Transfiguration OWLs."

“Bloody Merlin Iwaizumi.” Kuroo exclaimed, “Why d’ya have to be so hardworking? It’s Friday for goodness sake.” 

“It’s homework, Kuroo.” Hajime deadpanned “Professor Takeda assigned us a 2-foot long essay on it by Monday.” Seeing both Kuroo’s and Oikawa’s flabbergasted faces, Hajime sighed, “Well, now that you know what’s coming, I suggest that you start now.” He had completely forgotten that the Slytherins’ Transfiguration lessons were always behind the Gryffindors’. 

“I hate 5th year!” Oikawa whined, banging his head on the table. “I’m so busy, I haven’t even had the chance to use the Prefects’ baths yet, and it’s been two bloody weeks into the school year!” 

“Suck it up mate, all of us are busy.” 

As against as the Slytherin duo was to studying on a Friday, their sense of responsibility triumphed all. They begrudgingly took out their books and joined Hajime in chipping off the mountain they call their homework. At some point in time, Bokuto woke up, took one look at his friends and, out of peer pressure, starting studying as well. 

“I see you lot are working hard” Four heads looked up to see a Gryffindor with short dark hair. On his collar displayed a red and gold pin badge with the letter ‘C’. 

“Hello, Sawamura.” Kuroo greeted with a huge smile, but Hajime could see his eyebrow twitching slightly. 

“Kuroo, nice to see you.” Sawamura replied with a cool, polite smile of his own. 

The animosity between them was palpable.

“Bokuto, Iwaizumi, meet me in the common room for our first team meeting at eight.” Sawamura said, getting right to the point “and if you see any of our team members, please pass on the message.” 

“Will do Cap’n.” 

“Sawamura,” said Kuroo “I look forward to our first face-off as captains.”

Sawamura chuckled good-naturedly “Me too. You should get your team together soon, Kuroo, because we’re gonna whip Slytherin’s ass this time.” He said, staring challengingly at Kuroo.

“You bet we are!” Bokuto chimed in 

“With this slob as Slytherin’s captain, you might have a chance.” Oikawa said jokingly, gesturing to Kuroo “This guy doesn’t even know the names of our third years! The team might collapse under his leadership.” 

“Hey! At least I know Kageyama!” Kuroo countered, earning a snort from Bokuto. 

“Kuro-chan, everyone knows Tobio-chan.”

Sawamura shook his head in mirth. 

After Sawamura left, they continued with their work, ate dinner when it was served, and continued studying again afterwards. All of their teachers were relentless, assigning them difficult homework with barely enough time to even breathe. Regardless, Hajime managed to complete a sizable chunk of homework by the time nighttime rolled around.

“Iwaizumi, we should start heading back now or we’ll be late," Bokuto spoke 

"Right, give me a minute," Hajime said as he sprinkled sand on his newly finished essay.

A few sleepy goodbyes later, the Gryffindors made their way back to the Gryffindor Tower where the rest of the team gathered. True to his word, Sawamura started the meeting at eight O’clock sharp. 

“With three of our key players graduated, we need to finalize the starting lineup as soon as possible…” Hajime’s eyes began to droop with Sawamura’ soothing tenor. 

“…We have the Seeker and Beater positions open. I’ll ask now if any of the starters are interested in switching.” Sawamura gave his team a cursory glance "No? Well, that makes things easier. We'll hold trials for those positions in the starting lineup. Members of the reserve team are of course welcome to try." The reserve team started chatting excitedly among themselves. 

“What if we want a position that’s already filled?” One brave soul posed. 

“In that case…” Sawamura’s eyes glinted maliciously despite his wide smile “You’ll have to battle the starters for it then. If you can beat us fair-and-square, we’ll give it to you.

Of course, that sparked a fire in the remaining starting players.

“Challenge accepted!!!” Tanaka, one of their starting Chasers yelled 

“Oya oya, this sounds interesting," Bokuto smirked, looking a lot like the horned owl he was named after. 

Hajime was starting to feel more awake, fueled by his competitiveness “You can try, but we promise you it won’t be easy.” He wouldn’t give up his Chaser spot for anything. 

It was then decided that Quidditch trials would be held next weekend. Hajime would be lying if he said he wasn’t excited. This was a chance to rebuild the team after they fell short of last year’s Hogwarts Quidditch Cup by a few measly points…

It was also a chance to relieve stress by whipping some newbie ass.  
\--

“Are you the last group?”

“Yessir!” chorused a trio of chasers

“Now, see those floating obstacles?” Sawamura asked, gesturing to random pieces of furniture being charmed to fly above the Quidditch pitch “ besides trying to get the Quaffle through the hoops, you will need to maneuver through them. They will crash into you if you’re not careful, and it will hurt.” He emphasized, making sure the three understood. 

“Remember,” Sawamura added as the trio mounted their brooms “It is only if you can put the Quaffle through the hoops quicker than our starters then you’ll earn their spot on the team.”

Sawamura picked up one of the Quaffles from the basket “Ready….Begin!” He threw it up, and one of them snatched it, heading straight for the keeper on the other side of the field. The other two followed suit. 

Hajime watched with dull interest from his spot in the air as the three tried their best to dodge the flying objects. He, Bokuto and Tanaka tried out this very obstacle at the start of the trials, right in front of everyone, and took 1 minute and 25 seconds. 

So far, none of their challengers even got close to their time. 

Hajime’s interest was piqued when he saw a tall black haired boy do a somersault, successfully avoiding the rampant piano flying his way. Pulling his arm back, he passed the Quaffle to his teammate in front of him. She caught the Quaffle and made a beeline for the goalposts.

“Not bad!” He heard Tanaka say

“LOOK OUT!”

The girl was slammed off her broom by a jukebox.

“Arresto Momentum!” Hajime shouted, pointing his wand her. She decelerated sharply before landing safely onto the grass. 

As Bokuto went to check on the girl, Hajime’s gaze returned to the trials, where the two other players were still continuing. The tall boy had reclaimed the Quaffle and was heading for the goalposts. After a few passes between the remaining players, the tall boy finally managed to score. 

Hajime descended down to the ground to rejoin Sawamura. 

“Two minutes fifty seconds!” Called Sawamura. It looks like Hajime, Bokuto and Tanaka will be keeping their positions in the team after all. “Are you all right? Are you hurt anywhere?” Sawamura turned to the girl, who was still in shock from her fall.

The girl blubbered incoherently, tears sliding down her cheeks. Sawamura sighed “Bokuto, please take her to the hospital wing for a calming draught.” Hajime watched as Bokuto scooped the girl up –bridal style- and hurried for the hospital wing.

“Well, since that was the final group, it’s safe to say that the three starting chasers will remain the same.” Sawamura announced to the other students "However, don't lose hope yet! We will be reviewing your plays amongst ourselves and will be selecting three of you as our reserve chasers. Everyone, good job today and don’t forget to rehydrate.”

After everyone who tried out had left the pitch, Sawamura turned to his teammates “Good job today Tanaka, Iwaizumi. Anyone catch your eye during the trial?” 

“I thought that last guy playing chaser was decent. If I remember correctly, he was the only one who managed to avoid that huge ass piano.” Tanaka said “Seriously, who the hell charmed that thing?” 

“I agree, and actually, I charmed the piano," Hajime admitted sheepishly. “Anyways, Hinata was really good as Seeker. He improved a lot from last year.” 

“Iwa-chan!” A shrill voice sounded from the stands

Oikawa came prancing down from the Quidditch stands, waving at them, followed closely by Kuroo and the rest of the Slytherin team. Upon reaching Hajime, Oikawa immediately latched onto him like a baby koala. 

Hajime’s stomach flipped.

“You were spying on us?” Tanaka let out incredulously. 

“Uh-uh, it’s not called spying if we’re admitting to it. We’re just visiting.” One of the beaters, Matsukawa, countered with a smile

“You guys…” Sawamura said exasperatedly

“Well, I guess you wouldn’t mind if we visit you as well, right?” Hajime asked, irritated. 

“Feel free to do so.” Kuroo said, clearly goading them, "We don't really care either way because we're better than you." 

The Provocation King seemed to have struck a chord in all the Gryffindor players, as they were momentarily brought back to last year’s loss against Slytherin in the final match of the season. The hollowness they felt for weeks and their final year teammates' frustration were still etched into their minds.

"Is that so," Sawamura said too calmly, a forced smile on his face. “Now, if you don't mind, we have some furniture to counter-jinx.”

"Wait!" Oikawa interjected, "Before we do, why don't we have a game with the flying furniture? It'll be fun!” There were hums of agreement from the Slytherin team. 

Oh, so that’s why they all came, Hajime thought.

“Is that a challenge?” Tanaka said threateningly as he cracked his knuckles

"I don't mind, provided that my teammates don't," Sawamura said, ever the diplomat.

“No way," Hajime said, bopping Oikawa in the head. He still had to start on his Runes translations that were due tomorrow, and he was hungry and tired..

“But Iwa-chan!” 

“No.”

“Pleaseee” Hajime turned to face Oikawa, who was still clinging on and pulling his infamous puppy-dog eyes that made girls go ‘aww’. 

Hajime gulped, his eyes trailing to Oikawa's pink, slightly chapped lips. Instinctively, he pushed Oikawa’s head away.

“Fine. But don’t cry if you lose” Hajime gave in, much to Oikawa’s delight.

Even long after Oikawa had let go, Hajime still felt inexplicably hot, and the places where Oikawa’s body had touched him still tingled with pleasure. He tried not to mind it too much and immersed himself in their impromptu match against Slytherin. 

As expected, Hajime ended up burning the midnight oil to complete his Ancient Runes assignment.

\--


	2. Lovesick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things aren't always what they seem.

“You owe me ten Galleons.” 

Tooru cocked his head at Kuroo.

“Why?” Tooru asked as he went over to the sofa where Kuroo was sitting

“You don’t remember that bet we made about Bokuto?” Kuroo prompted, shaking his head with mock disappointment. 

“Which bet? We made loads of them over the years.” 

“The one about Bokuto and Akaashi getting together.” 

Realization washed over Tooru as he recalled the bet he lost. During the summer, he and Kuroo had bet 10 galleons on when their friend Bokuto would finally start dating the handsome fourth year whom he had been flirting with since forever. Kuroo’s estimate was more accurate, so he ended up being the winner.

Tooru cursed, eliciting a laugh from Kuroo “Here, take this first.” Tooru took out his moneybag and emptied its contents into Kuroo’s palm. “I’ll give you the rest later.” 

“Alright. Just so you know, our score is now 45 to 41, and I’m winning.” Kuroo said smugly, pocketing his earnings. 

“Yeah yeah, now hurry up.” Tooru hurried. "We're supposed to meet Iwa-chan and Bokkun right?"

“Oh right, they can’t make it anymore.” Kuroo said, earning a confused glance from Tooru. “They told me this morning that Sawamura moved their Quidditch practice a few hours earlier, so now they’re at the field slugging away under the hot sun.” 

“What. Why am I only knowing this now?” 

“Don’t give me that look” Kuroo said flatly “you would have known if you hadn’t spent fifty years coiffing your hair. I ran into their team at breakfast and they told me. It’s not like I can do a Patronus, I also haven’t an owl, so how was I to tell you?” 

Tooru clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction “I wish we had a magical version of mobile phones, that way we can easily communicate without using owls or casting a Patronus. Relaying information shouldn’t be such a hassle.”

“Seconded. Do you know how hard it is to gather everyone in the Quidditch team for a meeting?” Kuroo complained, " But until the Ministry installs cellular networks that work for wizards, we’ll have to make do with what we have.” 

“Maybe they can charm a headset and turn it into a communication device for us.” Tooru suggested idly “We’ve got magic, we’ve more than those muggles have, yet we’re so behind them.” 

“Well, as my mum always said, whoever that says that wizards are more superior than muggles has another thing coming. Plus, if it were that easy, we’d be communicating with headsets by now.” 

“Guess you’re right. So d’you wanna do our homework here or should we still go to the hall?” 

Kuroo tapped his chin, glancing around the common room, which was teeming with chatting students “Hall.” 

The two Slytherins gathered their belongings and headed for the Great Hall. On their way, they passed by members of Tooru’s fan club from another house, who were positively thrilled to be able to talk to their idol in the flesh. Tooru humoured them, endeared by their devotion.

Kuroo, however, has less than nice things to say once they were out of earshot “Wait ‘till they realize what a whiny, dramatic crybaby you are actually.” He even had the audacity to snicker, to which Tooru responded with a whack to the shoulder with his book bag. 

“Mean! You’re just jealous because I have admirers and you don’t.” 

“On the contrary,” a new voice wafted through from behind them. “Kuro does have his share of admirers.”

Kozume Kenma, Kuroo’s childhood friend, was walking a few steps behind them with his nose in a muggle comic. Tooru had taken to nicknaming the petite Ravenclaw boy ‘pudding-chan’ in his head due to his badly dyed blond hair with his black roots showing. Not that Tooru would ever say it out loud: Kenma would glare him into oblivion. 

“Kenma!” Kuroo called out “thank you for defending my honour.” He grinned cheekily at Tooru, flashing a peace sign. Tooru stuck out his tongue, belatedly realizing how childish they were. 

Kenma, already more than used to their behaviour, didn't bat an eyelash. 

“I wasn’t. I was merely stating the truth.” Kenma deadpanned, his eyes still glued to the comic. 

“Where’re you heading to anyway?” Kuroo asked putting his arm around Kenma 

“Nowhere in particular. Just wanted to find a place to read, all the chairs are taken up in the dormitory.” 

“Wow, you Ravenclaws are really something.” Tooru praised, then as an afterthought, said, “So do you want to join us? We’re just on our way to the Great Hall to study.” 

Kenma nodded. 

For the rest of the journey, Kenma walked a step slower than them, trailing behind Kuroo like a duckling following its mother. Tooru resisted the urge to ruffle the pudding head affectionately, not wanting to startle the boy.

Upon reaching the hall, they discovered, to Tooru’s delight, that it was almost empty. This meant a few hours of uninterrupted, productive studying, or in Kenma’s case, reading. 

They found themselves a comfortable spot (as comfortable as wooden seats can be) at the Slytherin table with a fruit bowl at the centre. Tooru emptied his book bag and proceeded to organize his workspace. He stacked his books according to size –largest at the bottom, smallest at the top –and arranged his inkwells according to colour –blue, dark blue, then black. 

“Even after four years of seeing you do this, it never gets old.” Kuroo commented, a one of his textbooks already sprawled open in front of him. Tooru took one look at Kuroo’s haphazard workspace and made a noise of distaste. 

“You should learn to be more organized! Really, I wouldn’t be surprised if a baby owl came and made a nest in your stack of parchment, it’s as messy as your hair.”

Kuroo rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else, and they lapsed into comfortable silence.

The next thing Tooru registered outside of his now nearly complete essay was Kenma’s soft snoring. He looked up to see the shorter boy slumped against the crook of Kurro’s neck, deep in sleep. Kuroo was absentmindedly patting Kenma’s head as he read a textbook, leaning slightly on Kenma’s sleeping form. Both looked content and perfectly at home. 

There shouldn't be any cause for it, but Tooru felt as if he was intruding on something. The gesture was so innocent yet so intimate. Despite the difference in stature, Kuroo and Kenma fit each other like complementary puzzle pieces. 

Well, they knew each other since they were babies, Tooru reminded himself. That’s even longer than his and Iwaizumi’s ten years. 

Not to mention that Iwaizumi would never let Tooru sleep on him and get away with it unpunished.

Tooru felt warm all over. He didn’t yet know what it was, only that it made his stomach churn –in both a good and bad way, if that was even possible. He promptly pushed it down along with the mirage of a face that appeared and placed a mental seal on it. Later, he would lie in bed in the wee hours of the morning, dissecting it. 

Tooru’s concentration was no longer lay on his Astronomy charts, but on his two friends sitting opposite of him. No matter how much Tooru willed himself to finish his charts, his thoughts kept drifting. Agitated, he started twirling his quill around, getting absolutely nothing done. 

“I’m gonna go fly a bit.” He finally said to Kuroo “all this studying is driving me up the wall. Care to join me?” 

Kuroo craned his neck to look at his companion who was still deep in sleep, looking as precious as a kitten. Tooru already knew Kuroo’s answer before he even said it. 

“I’m alright, you go. I’ll watch your stuff for you.” 

\--

The Quidditch pitch wasn’t as empty as he had hoped it to be. 

Tooru smacked his forehead in frustration. How could he have forgotten that the Gryffindor team was having practice now? 

No matter, he decided, making himself comfortable on a bench, he’d simply have to wait. Besides, they had to be ending soon: they had been at it for almost five hours. 

He was right. After a few minutes of watching blurs of red zap around, captain Sawamura finally gathered them down on the ground for a debriefing. One by one, the players flocked to Sawamura as if he was a magnet.

Tooru wasn’t going to bother them at first, but after seeing Iwaizumi’s back; he couldn’t resist the urge to. Giggling, he hopped onto his Nimbus 2020 and floated around inconspicuously until the team dispersed, waiting for an opportune moment to strike. 

“Who’s on cleanup duty today?” Sawamura asked

“I am.” 

What luck, it was Iwaizumi’s turn. Tooru grinned, still hiding behind the stands.

“Do you need any help?” 

“It’s fine. You go on ahead first.” 

Tooru watched Bokuto and the rest of the team head towards the castle. Now it was just Iwaizumi alone on the field collecting stray golf balls and putting them back into the bag. Stealthily, Tooru glided towards his best friend who still had his back facing him. 

He edged closer and closer until…

“Boo!!!” 

Iwaizumi’s response was more than entertaining. He jolted, the large bag of golf balls flying out of his hands and landing on the ground. At least half the bag ended up scattered around a less than pleased Iwaizumi. 

“You…” Iwaizumi was at a loss for words, a finger pointing accusingly at Tooru who merely laughed in response. 

“Opps, looks like Iwa-chan has to pick them up all over again.” Tooru couldn’t help but tease, watching Iwaizumi’s face turn a bright shade of red –in anger or in embarrassment, Tooru didn’t know. 

“Shittykawa. I will catch you and I will finally kill you for good.” Iwaizumi said slowly, his glare more intense than it usually is. 

Tooru gulped. “Bye!” He hurriedly kicked off from the ground. 

“Come back here!” Iwaizumi roared, taking off after Tooru on his own broom. 

“Only if you manage to catch me!” Tooru stuck out his tongue. He must be out of his mind. Why would he further provoke an angry gorilla if he wasn’t either crazy or masochistic? Whether or not he was off his rocker, there was one thing Tooru was certain about: 

He liked to have Iwaizumi’s full attention on him. 

The impromptu game of cat-and-mouse finally came to an end when Iwaizumi managed to grab hold of Tooru’s cloak, Tooru almost falling off his broom consequently. After a few noogies that Tooru swore was going to make him bald, the two flew back to the ground, exhausted. 

“This’ll take me forever to clear” Iwaizumi snarled, glancing at all the balls he now has to repack “and it’s all your fault.”

“Tut-tut Iwa-chan, are you a wizard or not?” Tooru said, pulling out his wand. He bent down and picked up the bag. 

“Pack.” 

Immediately, hundreds of golf balls magically threw themselves into the bag. In less than a minute, Tooru was tying the bag and handing it back to an impressed Iwaizumi. 

“Not bad, where’d you learn it?” Tooru’s heart swelled. It was a rare for Iwaizumi to genuinely praise him; he had said it would make Tooru’s already large ego swell even more. 

“My sister taught it to me over the summer.” 

After promising Iwaizumi a walkthrough for the spell in the near future, Tooru proceeded to help him transport all the Quidditch equipment back to the shed (see, he was capable of being a good friend). When they were done, and Iwaizumi had locked the door, they stood in front of the shed under a blanket of silence, looking at each other as if unsure what to do next. 

Luckily, there was no such thing as ‘awkward silences’ when it came to Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime.

“It’ll be such a waste to go back to studying, with the weather being this fine.” Tooru commented, gesturing to the skies. White fluffy clouds floated lazily, only barely shielding the sun, which beamed its warmth and light onto the Quidditch pitch. In Tooru’s opinion, today’s weather was perfect for flying.

Iwaizumi gave him a look “Please tell me you’re not going to…” 

“Let’s go flying!”

“…I knew it.” Iwaizumi groaned. Iwaizumi was probably the person who knew Tooru best, aside from his parents, having spent the majority of their childhood together. “Look, I know the weather is great, I think so too, but I just came out of practice for Merlin’s sake. I’m beat.” 

“But we aren’t going to race! We’ll just be flying leisurely at a small bird’s pace or even slower.” Tooru argued, his disappointment rising.

“My arms are tired.” Iwaizumi said, and Tooru doesn’t doubt that. However, Tooru was a Slytherin, and wouldn’t be able to call himself one if he can’t even coerce his best friend to go along with his whims.

“How about you sit behind me? I’ll do all the work and you just relax and enjoy the view.” 

Iwaizumi contemplated for a moment before letting out a huge sigh “well if you put it that way, I’m in. Though one funny move and I’ll jinx you.” He shot his most threatening glare at Tooru. A lesser man would cower, but Tooru remained unfazed. 

“Your lack of trust in me is disappointing Iwa-chan.” Tooru shakes his head, speaking in a mock hurt tone. “I’m not mean enough to play a prank on someone who looks dead on their feet!” 

“Stop yapping and get on with it already.” 

Tooru complied. He swung a leg over his trusty Nimbus and waited for Iwaizumi to follow. Once he felt Iwaizumi’s weight land firmly on the broom and his arms secure around Tooru’s waist, Tooru kicked off from the ground. 

As promised, Tooru made sure their flight this time around was more relaxing and slow-paced. There were no sharp accelerations or sudden stops; Tooru was only half maneuvering his broom, letting the wind do the rest of the labour. 

Iwaizumi’s grip on Tooru slackened slightly once they were at a constant velocity, and Tooru felt Iwaizumi lean onto his back slightly more. Despite Iwaizumi’s sweaty clothes sticking to Tooru’s own, Tooru couldn’t find it in his heart to complain. He leaned back into Iwaizumi’s loose embrace and basked in his best friend’s above-average body temperature.

“Where do you want to go, Iwa-chan?” 

“Anywhere’s fine.” 

Tooru decided to fly to the Great Lake. They flew languidly above the clear waters, grazing their footwear along the small waves and expertly avoiding the Giant Squid’s tentacles. Tooru took extra care to ensure the ride was as smooth as possible to ensure Iwaizumi’s comfort. He was a man of his word after all.

Warm affection for the person sitting behind him bubbled as Iwaizumi snuggled closer to Tooru. This was the person who stuck by Tooru through all the ups and downs throughout their decade of friendship, seen all of Tooru’s good and bad, and Tooru could think of no other person he felt this strongly for. 

“Remember when we were children, we used to sneak out and go flying like this?” Tooru asked, feeling slightly nostalgic. 

“Yeah, our moms weren't pleased." Iwaizumi replied sleepily, not even flinching when Tooru swerved abruptly to avoid a large splash by a merman.

“But it was worth it though, don’t you think?” Tooru asked. He felt Iwaizumi’s mouth curve against his back and automatically mirrored the action. 

“Totally.” 

As their broom ride spanned longer and longer, Iwaizumi’s response gradually became fainter until Tooru was practically talking to himself. 

“Iwa-chan?” Tooru said experimentally 

Since he didn’t hear a response, Tooru assumed that the Chaser had finally fallen asleep, slumped over him no less. Tooru glanced at Iwaizumi with a smile, drinking in his friend’s tranquil expression. It was something he rarely got to see even with all the sleepovers they had.

Before the afternoon sun got too unbearable, Tooru descended and touched down lightly at the main entrance, hovering a few feet off the floor. Hopefully, no one would see them (flying outside the designated Quidditch area was against the school rules). Scrubbing trophies with a toothbrush were certainly not on Tooru’s to-do list.

“Iwa-chan, wake up!” He whispered, lodging his elbow into Iwaizumi’s ribs.

Iwaizumi stirred, rubbing his bleary eyes. He looked up and scanned their surroundings before muttering a surprised “oh.” 

“Was my back really that comfy?” Tooru joked as they clambered off the Nimbus. 

“I was tired.” Iwaizumi said simply, pink dusting his cheeks. 

They went to the Great Hall only to find out that lunch was over. Kuroo and Kenma were still there, surprisingly, with a recent addition in the form of a spiky, silver-haired Gryffindor. 

“There you are Iwaizumi!” Bokuto exclaimed, “What took you so long?”

“Went flying around the school with this guy.” Iwaizumi replied, jabbing his thumb at Tooru. Tooru caught Kuroo staring at them and raised an eyebrow in question. Kuroo merely waggled his eyebrows back.

Tooru made a face towards Kuroo.

“Why didn't you invite me! I want to fly leisurely too.” Bokuto whined

“You can always ask Akaashi.” Kuroo pointed out slyly. Tooru catcalled, enjoying the way Bokuto’s face flushed at the mention of his newly minted boyfriend. Tooru watched Iwaizumi laugh and give Bokuto a hard slap on the back. 

“Anyway, I’m going to grab some food from the kitchens, anyone interested?" Tooru asked. The table’s occupants shook their heads, Kuroo indicating that they’d just had lunch. 

“Me, haven’t had anything since six O’clock.” Iwaizumi said, and Tooru almost felt bad for making him miss lunch. “I’m absolutely starving.” 

Halfway through their journey however, they were ambushed by a Gryffindor girl with two pigtails. 

“O-Oikawa-senpai” the girl stuttered, pigtails bobbing

“Why hello, how may I help you?” 

“C-can I have a moment with you?” After giving the girl a once over, Tooru knew what was going to transpire:

A confession. 

“I’d do anything for cute girls.” Tooru simpered, giving the girl his brightest smile and feigning cluelessness.

“I’ll uh, go on ahead then.” Iwaizumi said, also having realized the girl’s intention. 

The moment Iwaizumi rounded the corner; the girl wasted no time in beginning her confession. 

“Oikawa-senpai, I’ve watched and admired you for a really long time. I like your bubbly personality, your smile and especially the way you treat girls. I know I’m just another fangirl to you, but I hope that you’ll give me a chance. Please go out with me senpai!” The girl bowed, squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation. 

The girl was cute, Oikawa thought. He considered giving the girl a chance, but that would be fair to neither of them. 

He sighed softly, hoping that she wouldn’t cry like some of the other hopefuls he turned down. 

“What’s your name?” He asked gently 

“M-Mayu.” 

“Mayu-chan. Thank you for your feelings, but I’m afraid I cannot accept them.” Tooru began. He saw big brown eyes well up with unshed tears and paused, giving Mayu a sympathetic look. 

“Why? Am I not good enough for Oikawa-senpai?” 

“No no, it’s not that. You’re perfect, but…” Tooru’s gaze flickered to the corner where Iwaizumi disappeared into. “I’m sorry, I already have someone I like.”

That was the sole reason why popular, charming Oikawa Tooru was still single despite his army of admirers.

Tooru had irrevocably fallen for one dense, hotheaded Iwaizumi Hajime.

It was like a joke, to crush on someone so unattainable when there are loads of people within reach. 

Mayu sniffed “Okay…I understand.” Tears slid down her cheeks, but Tooru appreciated that she had at least tried to hold them in. 

“You deserve more than me Mayu-chan.” Tooru said sincerely “go and find someone better, someone who returns your feelings.”

“You’re the best for me, senpai. There’s no one like you in school.” 

“It’s hard now, but you’ll get over me soon, and move on to someone better. I’m not that good of a guy you know.” Tooru smiled encouragingly, patting Mayu’s head.

Mayu nodded reluctantly. “If you say so…but I think you’re being too hard on yourself. Whoever that girl is, she’s really lucky to have you. Thank you for everything senpai.”

Tooru’s heart constricted. Rejections were never easy; he would always feel guilty when turning someone down, but, as Iwaizumi had told him, that was always better than leading them on. 

He watched Mayu leave, head hung and nursing her broken heart.

“ ‘She’s really lucky to have you.' Yeah right, he doesn’t even feel the same way.” Tooru murmured to himself. Schooling his face into a neutral expression, he continued his journey to the kitchens, hoping that Iwaizumi was still there.

\--

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly don't know where I'm going with this, but hopefully the characters weren't too OOC T T. Thanks for stopping by!
> 
> Critique always welcomed! :)


	3. Strange day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm sorry, I already have somebody I like"

Hajime was definitely not ready to get his heart broken before he even confessed, but shit happens, and now Hajime had that phrase on perpetual replay in his mind, dissecting its implications. Never mind that it was already three am and he had class in a few hours, his mind just won’t give him a break. 

What was more baffling was that he wasn’t even hung up about the fact that Oikawa hadn’t told him that he liked someone; he was too busy thinking about the someone who had won over Oikawa’s affections. He had drawn a blank, crossing out every girl that he and Oikawa knew.

“Is this retribution?” He muttered to himself, massaging his glabella. 

Hajime recalled himself hesitating back then when that girl had confessed. Instead of “going on ahead”, like he had told Oikawa, he had pressed himself against the wall and eavesdropped on them like Rita Skeeter on the hunt for new gossip. At that moment, he had given in to his curiosity and had thrown caution to the wind, and where had that landed him? 

Someone’s loud snore cut into his thoughts. Hajime groaned, flipping onto his back to stare at the ceiling of his four-poster bed. His body was exhausted, and his heavy eyelids were begging him to just sleep already, but his heart and mind were too busy acting like twelve-year-old girls to do so. 

‘Brain, you already know that you have no chance; he’s straight! You shouldn’t even be hurt at this point. Just accept it and let me sleep!’ Hajime mentally yelled at himself. 

His mind retaliated by showing him images of Oikawa laughing, his brown eyes creasing into an eye smile Hajime always found beautiful.

‘Stop it. You have Potions first thing tomorrow and you don’t want to kill yourself with a cauldron explosion! Get over it and support him, like you always do!’ 

When Hajime finally drifted off into a restless sleep, he dreamt of Oikawa and a faceless girl happily in love, riding off into the sunset on a broom. Hajime wanted to follow them, but his broom refused to cooperate, and he crashed headfirst into the ground. Except that it wasn’t solid ground, and he found himself in the murky waters of the Great Lake. 

Hajime splashed around wildly and tried to scream as something gradually dragged him down by the leg. Oikawa and the girl had disappeared, and he was left neck-deep in the Great Lake, struggling to keep himself afloat. 

Soon, his energy depleted. He succumbed to the unknown force pulling him down underwater. Ice-cold water enveloped his entire face, seeping into his nostrils, eyes and ears…

The water vanished as Hajime’s eyes snapped open, replaced by the ceiling of his bed. Heart still pounding and feeling discombobulated, Hajime sat up, and was promptly greeted by the sight of his roommates in various states of undress. 

It was certainly a strange way to begin one’s day.

“Anyone have a spare shirt?” Bokuto yelled, his boxer-clad lower body sticking out of his trunk as he dug around for something, presumably a clean uniform.

“Not me!” a naked Tanaka shouted back, in the middle of spelling his clothes dry. 

“Morning Iwaizumi. I was about to wake you soon.” Semi said calmly from the bed next to Hajime. Unlike the other two, Semi was organized and fully dressed, a cloth in hand as he polished his wand. 

Morning.” Hajime reciprocated sleepily, stretching his stiff limbs. “What time is it?” 

“It’s only seven. We still have an hour until Potions with the Hufflepuffs.” Semi replied, glancing at him “You look a little tired. Didn't sleep well?” 

“Kinda.” Hajime said, hopping off his bed. Grabbing a full set of clothes from his trunk, he padded to the bathroom for his morning routine. 

While Hajime didn’t end up with an explosion to his face during Potions, he grossly miscounted the mistletoe berries required for the potion and ended up with a strong, mistletoe-smelling goop for a potion. Professor Nekomata came by, gave a chuckle before vanishing his mistake, and walked off without a word.

Hajime curled in on himself in shame, pointedly ignoring Bokuto’s worried glance. 

“Let me get this straight. You put ten of them in and you didn’t think it was weird?” Bokuto questioned afterwards, stifling a laugh.

“I was tired, give me a break.” Hajime bit out 

“Ya-hoo! Iwa-chan, Bokkun.” A too-familiar voice sounded from behind them. Hajime gave a surprised gasp as an arm draped around his shoulders and soft, chocolate brown curls filled his vision. The sudden onslaught of the scent of Oikawa’s shampoo sent his mind into a frenzy of longing and affection. 

Unconsciously, Hajime leaned in closer, with their heads almost touching. 

“Iwa-chan!” Hajime started as Oikawa turned to address him “why didn’t you wait for me yesterday?” 

Hajime had to take a few seconds before he figured out what Oikawa was referring to. 

“You were taking too long, Shittykawa.” Hajime lied. In actual fact, he had forgone the kitchens and went straight for the Gryffindor Tower, no longer in the mood for food. “So, how did it go?” He asked for appearances sake.

“Rejected, as usual.” Kuroo supplied helpfully. Hajime felt as if someone took a stake and drove it into his heart.

“What, did Oikawa reject someone again?” Bokuto inserted casually, as if talking about the weather. Now it felt like someone took hold of that stake and was twisting and turning it, piercing it deeper into Hajime’s heart. 

“You guys are making me sound like an asshole. I can’t help it that I’m popular.” 

“You did not just quote ‘Mean Girls'," Kuroo said flatly. Oikawa gave him the peace sign. 

“Oikawa quoted who?” 

“Muggle movie.” 

Hajime nursed his throbbing headache and prayed that the day would go faster. 

\--

“You want to do WHAT?” Hajime said sharply, earning a loud “shh!” from the librarian. It was his only free period of the day and all Hajime wanted to do was take a nap, but of course, his friends wouldn't allow him to. 

“Can you please be quiet? This is the library!” A Ravenclaw girl from the table next to them whispered fiercely. Hajime muttered a sheepish apology to the student.

“Iwaizumi” Kuroo said slowly as if talking to a toddler "we want to learn the Patronus Charm.” 

“But why?” Hajime furrowed his eyebrows “Why do you guys feel the need to add unnecessary workload to yourselves? We don't have any use for it too since dark creatures are under the Ministry's heavy surveillance.” 

“Were you not listening to us just now? It’s for communication! Silly Iwa-chan.” Oikawa admonished

“Sounds fun. I wanna give it a try. Imagine how cool we’d be if we can conjure a corporeal Patronus! I hope mine’s an owl.” Bokuto stated happily 

“Bo, there is no such thing as an owl Patronus," Kuroo said 

"Aw, but it's still cool, though." 

“But the real reason we’re doing this, though, is so we can contact each other more easily " Oikawa interjected, "it'll be like text messaging, and we don’t need to go up all the way to the Owlery.” 

Hajime looked between his three friends sporting twinkling eyes and determined auras “you’re not giving me a choice are you?” 

“Nope.” 

“Great, so I take my nap now right?” Hajime said sarcastically. He needed a well-deserved break from the craziness.

“I’m going to go find more books on it, be right back.” Hajime heard Kuroo say before he buried his head in his arms and closed his eyes. Luckily, no one disturbed him further, and Hajime was finally able to get some shuteye.

Hajime was brought back to consciousness by pokes to his face in what felt like a few seconds (but actually an hour) later. His headache had subsided, and while he no longer felt like the walking dead, the sleepiness still lingered and his arm was numb. Still, he felt marginally better and up for the daunting double period of Defence Against the Dark Arts. 

Reluctantly peeling his eyelids open, the first thing Hajime saw was stunning, mocha-brown eyes and too long lashes. 

If Hajime wasn’t still fully awake then, he was now, with blood rising to his face to boot. 

“Ew Iwa-chan, you’ve drool on your chin!” Oikawa squawked, pulling his face away. Indeed, there was a puddle of drool on the table at the spot where his face had been. 

“It’s just saliva, grow up Oikawa.” Hajime rolled his eyes, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his robe. He was about to do the same to the puddle when Oikawa stopped him, clicking his tongue like a disapproving mother. 

“Do that and I’m never going within two feet of you ever again, you Neanderthal.” Oikawa withdrew from his trouser pocket a teal alien-print handkerchief and threw it at Hajime’s chest. “Use this instead and wash before returning it, thanks.” 

"You're so full of shit," Hajime grumbled but did as he was told. He bunched up the handkerchief after he was done and stuffed it into his pocket. It didn't register until much later that Oikawa had willingly given up his favourite handkerchief to wipe Hajime’s drool. 

“Let’s go. Professor Ukai Senior will kill us if we’re late.” Oikawa said, standing up and waiting for Hajime to follow. “Kuro-chan and Bokkun already went on ahead.” 

The distance between the library and the Defence classroom wasn’t far. When they arrived, only a few students were loitering around, talking to each other, and the older Ukai was nowhere in sight. 

“Ah, Iwaizumi-kun!” A female voice chirped 

“Michimiya.” Hajime smiled, facing the petite brunette. 

“The Ravenclaw prefects wanted to switch their duty slot tonight with our Wednesday slot. I don’t mind, but I told them I would ask whether you were okay with it or not.”

Hajime hesitated. He had planned to spend the night catching up on homework and sleep. “Why can’t they make it?” 

“Apparently one of their first-years caught something really nasty, so they’re taking turns watching over him as he recuperates in their dormitory.” 

If Hajime were to refuse, he would be a major douchebag who would have ruined Gryffindor's relationship with Ravenclaw. Ignoring his sleeping clock's protests, he nodded "If that's the case, I'll switch then." 

“Sure, I’ll go and tell them that then.” Michimiya said with a bright smile “See you later.” 

Hajime sighed as he watched Michimiya rejoin her friends, at least he can comfort himself with the fact that he’s helping out a fellow in need. 

“Iwa-chan” Oikawa sang, and Hajime suddenly remembered that Oikawa was beside him “Michimiya’s pretty cute isn’t she?” 

Hajime frowned and bit his lip, his mood further sullied by that seemingly harmless question

Luckily, Hajime didn’t have to respond as Professor Ukai Senior chose to walk in at this exact moment.

“Settle down now.” Ukai Senior said gruffly as students scrambled for their seats. Hajime quickly plopped down next to his assigned seat next to Kuroo.

“Where have you been?” Hajime asked Kuroo

“Trying out the Patronus with Bo in an empty classroom. We didn't get anywhere.” 

“You were serious about wanting to do the Patronus Charm?” Hajime asked incredulously. He didn’t think they were actually going to go through with it. “Where did you even get that idea from in the first place?” 

“Well actually, Oikawa thought of it. I thought it was splendid, so I wanted to do it too, and Kuroo Tetsurou is always up for a challenge.” 

“Then why didn’t Oikawa join you?” 

“He wanted to stay. He said that someone had to babysit you.” Kuroo smirked, looking at Hajime from the corner of his eye. 

“Bullshit. If anything, it’s Crappykawa who needs babysitting.” 

Kuroo snorted. 

“Today, you’ll be starting on the Shield Charm.” Professor Ukai Senior began the lesson proper as soon as everyone was ready. “Can anyone tell me the incantation for the Shield Charm?” 

“It’s Protego, sir.” Kuroo replied after a brief silence

“Correct, ten points to Slytherin. Shield charms create a magical barrier to deflect all physical entities and spells, in order to protect a certain person or area, a darn useful spell, but quite tricky to perform...

“The shield charm has a limitation. There is one and only one spell the shield charm cannot block. Does anybody here know?” 

The room buzzed as students tried to rack their brains for information they may or may not have known. Hajime remembered something about it in his textbook, but try as he might, he can’t seem to recall what he had read. To his right, Kuroo was reclining on his chair, chewing on a piece of gum. 

“No one here knows?” Professor Ukai Senior questioned 

“The killing curse.” Kuroo stated as if it was common knowledge. 

“Very Good, another ten points to Slytherin. It seems only Kuroo has done the reading homework I’ve assigned.” Professor Ukai Senior’s cold gaze swept across the classroom. Hajime shivered in his seat.

“You smartass.” Hanamaki whispered from behind, kicking the underside of Kuroo’s chair. 

“Now, as Kuroo-kun had said, not even the strongest shield charm can block the killing curse. Only Harry Potter has ever survived it, but I won’t bore you with the details; you must all be very familiar with him by now…

“All right, enough of me rambling, I’d like all of you to take out your wands; we’ll go through the wand movement as a class before we break off into pairs to practice.” 

Ukai Senior took out his own wand and waved it swiftly in a vertical line. “Whether you start from the bottom or the top is up to personal preference, though I prefer the bottom. Don’t drag your whole arm up, make use of your wrist and…flick!” 

When everybody was able to get accustomed to the wand movement, Professor Ukai Senior asked for a volunteer to demonstrate the actual spell. Tanaka, who had the misfortune to be in the front row, rose out of obligation when Professor Ukai Senior glanced at him one second too long. 

“This spell can be performed non-verbally, but for the sake of learning, I’ll do it verbally.” Professor Ukai Senior shifted into a defensive stance “ready whenever you are, Tanaka-kun.” 

Tanaka shot a leg-locker curse towards the Professor.

“Protego.” The leg-locker curse ricocheted off a translucent barrier in front of Professor Ukai Senior and dissipated into the walls. 

Professor Ukai Senior put his wand back into his robes amidst the clapping from his students, Hajime included. Professor Ukai Senior then asked them to pair up and spread out in the classroom to (try to) produce a shield charm. 

“Use only minor spells” Professor Ukai Senior stressed, “I don’t want anyone going to the hospital wing.” 

Hajime paired up with Bokuto and Kuroo paired up with Oikawa due to their difference in proficiency at Defence Against the Dark Arts. Hajime was by no means stupid, but he was just a little above average in this subject, whereas Oikawa and Kuroo were naturals, Professor Ukai Senior’s star pupils, always going head to head for the top position. It would make sense to partner up with someone of a similar skill level. 

“Kuroo, I'll defend first," Oikawa called, shifting his stance. 

“Expelliarmus.”

“Protego.” 

As expected, Oikawa’s first attempt ended up in failure, his wand shooting out of his hand into Kuroo’s palm. 

Soon, the classroom was filled with flying hexes and jinxes and the occasional scream. Hajime was subjected to many rounds of Bokuto’s favourite tickling hex, only managing to produce a few sparks off his wand. 

“Locomotor Wibbly!”

“Protego!” 

"Bloody Merlin." Hajime heard Kuroo curse, and turned to look. Kuroo was gaping at Oikawa, who looked equally as shocked and standing upright, not at all affected by the jelly-legs jinx. Oikawa had his wand outstretched, surrounded by a faint white light that was dematerializing into minuscule globules. 

“Ha! I won again, Kuroo, I produced it first!” Oikawa said smugly, “you now owe me ten sickles.” 

Hajime blinked. Were they having a bet on this? 

Professor Ukai Senior took this opportunity to stop by. “I must say, Oikawa-kun, you don’t disappoint at all. Thirty points to Slytherin for completing the spell really quickly, quicker than I expected, actually.” 

“Come, Oikawa!” Kuroo challenged, “If I get it right this time, it’s considered a draw!” 

“Go on. Try it if you can” Oikawa drawled “Ventus.” 

“Protego!”

Oikawa’s Ventus jinx bounced cleanly off Kuroo’s shield charm and hit the ceiling, producing a large gust of wind that almost blew the chandelier off its hangers. 

"Ten sickles: cancelled," Kuroo smirked, much to Oikawa’s chagrin. 

Professor Ukai Senior’s eyes widened slightly. He laughed amusedly to himself, paying no attention to the fiery aura of competitiveness emanating from his two top students. 

“Another thirty points to Slytherin for Kuroo-kun’s successful attempt.” Professor Ukai laughed, clapping his hands merrily. That had attracted the attention of some of the neighboring students

Hajime and Bokuto have completely abandoned their incomplete task to watch their two friends engage in a mock duel, fueled by Kuroo’s taunts, as their Professor nodded appreciatively. 

“Iwaizumi, for the first time in four years, I think Kuroo and Oikawa are bloody cool.” Bokuto said solemnly, watching Kuroo easily produce the shield charm for the second time. “I mean, I always knew they were good but…”

“Yeah, I get it. I hate to admit it, but I think you’re right.” Hajime answered back “as far as DADA is concerned, they’re bloody geniuses,” and he truly meant what he said. 

“I think…they might just be able to pull off the Patronous charm.” Bokuto added. Hajime privately agreed. 

When the lesson was over, only Oikawa and Kuroo had managed to produce a successful shield charm. For the unlucky chaps who didn’t manage, Ukai Senior gave a herculean task in the form of a two feet long essay on wand waving techniques. Hajime swore he came close, having managed to allay the effects of Bokuto’s attacks.

Hajime was getting ready to leave when Kuroo placed his hand on his shoulder, “wait, Iwaizumi. I want to talk to Ukai.” 

Confused, Hajime put his bag down on the chair and waited obediently as Kuroo went forward. He saw Kuroo give a meaningful look at Oikawa, the latter immediately going over to join the former at the front of the classroom.

Soon, it was only the four of them and Professor Ukai left in the classroom. Bokuto sidled over to Hajime, looking as equally confused as Hajime. 

“Iwaizumi, what do you think they’re going to talk about?” 

“Who knows? Maybe they had a question on the shield charm?” 

Professor Ukai Senior finally noticed four boys loitering around longer than they should be, and looked up from his briefcase. “Oh, it’s you two. Good job with the shield charm today. Really, I’m impressed, and I’ve been teaching for over twenty years.”

"Thank you, sir." Oikawa preened 

“So, Professor. We’d like to ask you something Defence related…” 

“Hmm? What is it?” 

“You see, we’d like to produce a corporeal Patronus." Kuroo said, getting straight to the point. "We'd like your advice on it since there wasn't much about it in the library." 

Understanding dawned upon Hajime. He looked at Bokuto, who looked back at him. 

This day just keeps getting weirder, Hajime thought.

“Wha-” Professor Ukai Senior was taken aback, his eyes bulging. “You want to produce a Patronus, you say?” 

“Yes sir.” Kuroo and Oikawa said simultaneously 

Professor Ukai Senior went quiet. Hajime used this moment to edge to the front together with Bokuto so that they were standing behind Oikawa and Kuroo. 

"The four of us want to learn the Patronus Charm, sir," Bokuto repeated 

“Why? I understand that the Patronus Charm was popular during the Second Wizarding War, but that was for practical purposes, with a lot of dark creatures lurking around. Now that there are little to no such creatures, the Patronus Charm became no more than decoration. Why would you youngsters want to learn such a spell?” 

“Not true sir, the Patronus Charm has more use than protection against Dementors and other dark creatures.” Kuroo said, “We can use Patronouses as an easier form of communication. Plus, it can be a companion of some sort, you know, to keep us sane while we cram for our OWLs.” 

Hajime almost burst out laughing at Kuroo’s counterargument, barely managing to keep a straight face. 

“That’s the thing, boys. This is your fifth year: your OWL year. You wouldn’t want to burden yourselves further with a tough spell like the Patronus Charm. I would much rather you focus on your OWL syllabi, rather than wasting time on a spell with little use in this time and age.” 

“But Sir, we believe that if we can correctly perform something as hard as the Patronus charm, the rest of our OWL syllabi would be easier and less taxing, and we have a higher chance at bagging those ‘Outstandings’.” Oikawa said 

“Oikawa’s right sir.” Hajime spoke up, slightly surprised at himself for doing so “the journey matters more than the destination. What we learned while practicing to produce a corporeal Patronus would greatly help us for our OWL exams." 

“Also sir, we believe we can handle the workload.” Kuroo added with conviction

Professor Ukai Senior looked between them, heaving a sigh. “I’m happy that you boys are becoming autonomous learners, but I want you to nail the basic, OWL spells first. You have an arduous year ahead of you; the OWLs are not easy…

“However.” Professor Ukai Senior raised his hand to stop Oikawa’s protest, “I recognize that you boys have talent, so I’m willing to consider, provided that you prove to me that you are able to handle OWL level spells with ease.”

"Just tell us how, and we'll show you our capabilities," Oikawa said eagerly, reminding Hajime of an excited child on Christmas. 

Professor Ukai Senior’s eyes flickered to the ceiling in thought, before landing on each and every one of them. “Let’s see… Ah, after next week’s lesson, I’d like you four to stay behind for a while. I’ll give a quiz pertaining to spells and dark creatures you've learnt since First year, including the shield charm. I expect you t o be able to answer everything successfully.” The old man’s steely gaze focused and Hajime and Bokuto in particular. “If you can’t pass my quiz, you can forget about the Patronus charm.” 

“We won’t disappoint, sir.” Kuroo promised 

“Make sure to help these two along as well.” Professor Ukai Senior nodded to Hajime and Bokuto, “Iwaizumi-kun, I recall that you underperformed for last year’s final exam, hmm?” 

“Yes sir.” Hajime squeaked, feeling his cheeks flush. He had gotten stumped at a particularly difficult question that threw him off.

“Yes, yes. I look forward to next week. Another thing, Bokuto-kun, Iwaizumi-kun, you are on the Quidditch team, correct?” 

"Yes, we are." Bokuto answered proudly 

“Be sure to win the upcoming match against Hufflepuff.” Professor Ukai Senior winked, “as the Gryffindor team’s former coach, it’s a little disheartening to see you lose to Hufflepuff last season. Make sure to get that revenge!” 

“Yes sir!” 

“Good.” The professor gave them a broad smile “now off you go, and enjoy the rest of your day.” 

Hajime had a feeling that the week ahead would be a grueling and stressful one, and wondered for the umpteenth time why he agreed to go along with another one of Oikawa’s whimsical ideas. 

\--

Hajime swore the walls of the corridor moved while he was walking through it. That, or he was so tired his vision started playing tricks on him. 

Or both. Since Hogwarts was a magical building, moving walls are considered normal, Hajime supposed. 

Patrolling the dark, quiet corridors late into the night when he could be snuggled in a warm duvet did nothing to make Hajime’s day better. He’d love to skive on prefect duties, but he had given his word to Michimiya.

Hajime does not like to break his promises. 

With that in mind, Hajime continued to drag his feet across the concrete through the same route he’d been patrolling for almost a month. A few more metres and Hajime can finally retire to his room and probably sleep forever. 

As Hajime rounded the Transfiguration wing, one of the classrooms let out a moan so loud that even Hajime’s tired senses could not miss it. 

There was a fierce “shh! Not so loud” that came immediately after, but the damage was done. Hajime’s sense of responsibility would not allow him to ignore the rule-breakers. Irritated, Hajime opened the door with more force than necessary, intending to get this over and done with in the shortest time possible. 

“Can’t you horny fuckers keep it in your pants until tomorrow or something?” Hajime bit out.

“Shit!” a darkened male figure hissed, immediately separating from his partner “Issei! This happened because you were so loud!” 

“I’m sorry, I can’t help it!” ‘Issei’ whispered back 

“Lumos Maxima.” Hajime casted, illuminating the once dark classroom in an instant.  
Two guilty and very familiar pair of eyes blinked owlishly at Hajime

Hajime’s jaw dropped open.

“Matsukawa, Hanamaki. What even.” 

“Y-Yo, Iwaizumi.” Hanamaki smiled awkwardly, his shirt half-buttoned and hanging loosely off his shoulder. Thankfully, his lower region seemed to be fully clothed. 

“So, what fine weather we have, eh?” Matsukawa quipped, untangling his limbs from Hanamaki’s.

Hajime didn’t think he could take any more madness in a single day. 

“You realize that I have to give you a week’s worth of detention with Madam Norris right?” Madam Norris was the caretaker with a very, very sullen disposition and a penchant for giving verbal abuse. 

That seemed to spook the living daylight out of the two Slytherins, Haijime noted with sadistic pleasure: That would teach them not to rendezvous at night on Hajime’s patrol days. A cranky and sleep-deprived Hajime makes an intolerant Hajime, apparently.

“Now, Iwaizumi, let’s talk this out…Madam Norris, seriously?” 

“We can’t have detention, we’d miss Quidditch. Kuroo will slay us…and Kageyama too, even though he’s our underclassman.”

“Oikawa’ll never let us live it down when he finds out…” 

Hajime stared at them, unimpressed.

“What do you want, then? We can give you gold.” Hanamaki tried, his pitch rising in desperation. 

"We can show you a secret room we found the other time," Matsukawa added, clenching and unclenching his fists. 

Hajime felt like he was enjoying their distress too much. On one hand, it was his duty to dish out punishments to rule-breakers. On the other hand, it wouldn’t be in his interests to make enemies with two very skilled Beaters who can maim him with just one well-aimed swing. 

Moreover, Hajime really wanted to go to bed. 

“Tell you what…” Hajime sighed “I won’t report this to Madam Norris, but!” He added sternly, before any of them can get too happy, “I’m taking thirty points from each of you. Fair?” 

“Absolutely.” Matsukawa breathed 

“You’re the best, Iwaizumi.” Hanamaki grinned with relief

“Uh-huh. Protip: silencing charms exist.” Hajime said dryly “now if you’ll excuse me, I have to resume my duties. Quickly clothe up and return to the dungeons before my partner catches you.”

The two Beaters nodded enthusiastically. 

“Oh Iwaizumi?” Matsukawa called just as Hajime was about to leave the room “if you ever need anything—and I mean anything—just give us a holler.” 

“That’s right. We owe you one now. We may be cunning, but we know how to return a favour.” Hanamaki agreed 

Too tired to protest, Hajime settled for a nod before shutting the door, then put a locking charm to lock the door only on the outside –just in case. 

When Hajime finally reached the Gryffindor Tower, he slumped into his four-poster without even bothering to change and fell into a deep sleep the moment his head hit his pillow, putting an end to the long and arduous day.

\--  
TBC


	4. Gryffindor vs Hufflepuff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Out of all the girls in the entire school, who do you want to kiss the most?"

"All right, is everyone ready?" Sawamura shouted to make himself heard over the cheers emanating from the Quidditch stands. 

"I-I think I need the t-toilet." Hinata, their third-year Seeker mumbled as he clutched his stomach. One of their Beaters, Kindaichi, looked no better in terms of handling his pre-game nerves. Hajime suddenly had a flashback of his and Bokuto's first game, where they were so nervous they collided into each other and almost cracked their skulls open. He prayed that no such mishap would occur today.

"You just went, Chibi-chan." Bokuto shouted amusedly, ruffling Hinata's orange locks "you'll be fine once you get in the air, don't worry! Just remember that super feint technique I taught you!" 

Hajime put his hand reassuringly on Kindaichi's shoulder "just have faith in the practice we put in and do your best. You too, Kyoutani." He added, addressing their other Beater.

Kyoutani grunted in acknowledgment, tapping his Beater's bat on the ground. 

"Any final words of wisdom, Daichi-san?" Tanaka joked as the shutters started to open, prompting the team to mount their brooms. 

"Quidditch is a team sport," Sawamura stated with finality, kicking off once the shutters had opened wide enough

The rest of the team followed Sawamura's lead. 

Red and yellow coasted along the perimeters of the pitch amidst the audiences' roars and player introductions before breaking off into the starting formation. Madam Hooch made the two captains shake hands before releasing the Bludgers and the Snitch from the crate. 

"Now I want a nice, clean game from all of you. If I see any foul play, I'll have you benched before you can even say the word ‘Quidditch'". Madam Hooch warned. Despite her old age, her steely eyes promised hell if anyone dared disobey. 

Hajime's eyes trained onto the Quaffle in Madam Hooch's gloved hands. 

"Three…two…one…go!" 

At that split second, many things occurred simultaneously. There was a mad scramble for the Quaffle as some of the Chasers pelted towards the Quaffle, their arms outstretched, while some backed away into a pre-planned formation. The Beaters immediately whipped out their large bats, heading in the direction of the Bludgers. The Seekers soared high above everyone else and out of the fray, as they had been trained to, for a bird's eye view of the game. 

"AAAND Azumane from Hufflepuff gets first procession of the Quaffle!" Tendou Satori shouted into the microphone charmed to amplify his voice. 

Hajime leaned forward to increase his acceleration so that he could catch up to Azumane. Azumane Asahi was a veteran chaser, being the oldest member of the team and had good broom control. He was definitely a player to be wary of. 

When Tanaka turned in from the side to try to snatch the Quaffle, Azumane dropped the Quaffle to Ennoshita, who was flying directly below him. The Quaffle landed into Ennoshita's hands, and the dark-haired boy took off, managing to cleanly avoid an assaulting Bludger hit by Kyoutani. 

"Ennoshita has the Quaffle now and has managed to avoid that Bludger, lucky for him. Or maybe Kyoutani needs to work on his aiming skills…maybe he hasn't gotten laid in a while ahem—TENDOU!" The Headmistress interrupted, swiftly putting an end to Tendou's unnecessary comment. 

"Sorry Professor." Tendou said, not sounding apologetic at all, "where are we? Right, so Sawamura has managed to block Ennoshita's shot. The quaffle is now with Iwaizumi, oh now it's with Bokuto, and back to Iwaizumi again! That is some solid teamwork right there, ladies and gentlemen!" 

Hajime grinned to himself, proud that he and Bokuto had managed to evade Hufflepuff's defense with their ball handling. He tucked the Quaffle securely under his arm as he made his way towards Hufflepuff's goal. 

"Iwaizumi drives in…GOAL! 10-0 to Gryffindor! Nice try, Nishinoya, better luck next time."

"Arghh, I'll get it next time guys, sorry!" Nishinoya yelled to his teammates as he descended to retrieve the Quaffle 

"Don't mind, Nishinoya!" Azumane called back. He caught the Quaffle from Nishinoya and made a U-turn. 

"Quaffle back in possession of Azumane, who passed it to Yamaguchi, the latest addition to the team. He looks kinda frail and meek, but oh well, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover…" 

Tendou's biting commentary didn't seem to faze the freckled Hufflepuff at all, Hajime noticed. Yamaguchi continued at a steady speed, passing the Quaffle back to Azumane without a beat. After a commendable fake that managed to fool Tanaka, Azumane went up and dumped the Quaffle into the hoop right under Sawamura's nose. 

"Ten points to Hufflepuff with Azumane's daring move! I still remember last season where Azumane's spikes were continuously blocked by Ravenclaw's impressive ‘iron wall'. It seems Azumane's back in his groove, people!" Tendou yelled, riling up the crowd with his commentary.

The roars from Hufflepuff were deafening. Azumane pumped the air in response as he went back into defense. 

"Don't mind, Sawamura!" Hajime encouraged

The game continued aggressively, yet tediously slow, with Gryffindor and Hufflepuff going neck and neck. The toil that both teams had put in didn't seem to translate onto the scoreboard due to the Keepers' concrete defense. If not for Bokuto and Tanaka's infectious energy, Hajime was certain that the rest of the team's exhaustion would see a drop in performance; Kindaichi was starting to show signs of lethargy, being his first time playing in an official game. 

"Yet another magnificent save by Hufflepuff's ‘Guardian Deity'! Aside from a few fumbles at the beginning, Nishinoya is definitely living up to his nickname. The Gryffindor Chasers are starting to sweat…" 

Nishinoya grinned, having managed to deflect Hajime's nth shot, consequently sending the Quaffle flying straight into Azumane's waiting arms. 

Hajime cursed.

"It's still 60-50 to Gryffindor, and wow, an hour has already passed! It's evident that that'll be a Seeker's game, no pressure to both of them…" 

Hajime subconsciously glanced over to where Hinata was zooming around aimlessly, laying in wait for the Snitch. He was forced to look away when a Bludger came in too close for comfort, directing his concentration back to the Quaffle.

The next point for Gryffindor took the combined efforts of all three Chasers to fluke a reaction out of Nishinoya, with Tanaka barely managing to slip the Quaffle through the left hoop. 

"Gryffindor starts to pull away with seventy points to Hufflepuff's fifty, and that's the largest difference in the score we've had this entire game!" 

Shouts of joy erupted from Gryffindor's side of the podium. 

"Oh wait, what's this? The Hufflepuff Seeker is going at breakneck speed! Has he perhaps finally spotted the Snitch?" 

True to Tendou's word, Goshiki was leaning forward on his room to accelerate, chasing something that suspiciously looked like…

"He has! Ladies and Gentlemen, the star of the show has finally made its debut! Now, it'll be up to Hinata Shouyo or Goshiki Tsutomu to decide which house gets the first match of the season!"

Luckily, Hinata had caught onto the Snitch's appearance quickly, and bolted over immediately in a blur of orange and red. Soon, he was hot on Goshiki's tail in a wild goose chase for the Snitch. 

"Go, Hinata!" The Gryffindor supporters encouraged 

This, in Hajime's opinion, was always the most difficult part for the rest of the team who must remain focused on their tasks despite the tension and anticipation. Knowing that whatever you do at this point in time will not make a difference, but having to keep doing it was taxing on one's willpower. 

"They've both taken a steep dive as the snitch suddenly took a dip! The climax of the game is approaching, will Gryffindor of Hufflepuff get the Snitch first?" 

Hinata and Goshiki were side-by-side, heading headfirst to the ground in hot pursuit of the slippery Snitch. Both of them managed to avoid concussions by swerving just before it got too dangerous, currently making them parallel to the ground. 

"Nice broom control, Seekers! You're almost there now!" Tendou said heartily as the crowd's cheers increased in volume. 

Almost at the same time, Hinata and Goshiki lurched off their brooms for the snitch, falling and tumbling into a sand pit, taking the little golden ball along with them.

Everyone in the air froze, even Ennoshita who had his arm poised in a half-throw. 

"Olololo! This is exciting! The Snitch has been caught! But by who, is what everyone is dying to know…" 

The Seekers rolled over, unburying themselves from the sand, and a gloved hand rose into the air, grasping onto the Golden Snitch. 

Madam Hooch blew her whistle to signal endgame. 

"Hinata Shouyo has caught the Snitch! Gryffindor wins 220 to 50. Great game to both teams and I'll see you again for our second match: Ravenclaw versus Slytherin." 

The Gryffindor team erupted in ecstasy.

"You did it Chibi-chan!" Bokuto hooted, picking a dazed Hinata into a bear hug as soon as he touched down. 

"Oooooooh!" Tanaka roared, smacking Hinata's palms in a high-five. 

"Victory celebration in the common room at five!" Someone bellowed. The whole team shouted their consent, even Sawamura who was always known to be sensible. 

They eventually calmed down enough to shake hands with Hufflepuff and even give a good-natured hug or two. Tanaka and Nishinoya even bumped chests, showing their chivalry off the pitch. As expected, Hufflepuff had good sportsmanship, taking their loss graciously. 

Haijime and his teammates eventually made their way back to their locker room in high spirits, discussing beverage items for the party later. They were jovially greeted by the reserve team midway, which kick-started another round of high-fives and friendly slaps to the back.

"Although it was a long game, we managed to pull through," Sawamura spoke once they had gathered in the locker room. "Excellent work everyone, I'm very proud of you all. Next practice will be on Thursday, so you have four days to recuperate. For now, rest up and join the party if you want, and I'll see you all soon."

The crowd dispersed after Sawamura's speech was over. Some gathered their equipment and headed back to the castle while others opted for the locker room showers.

Bokuto slung an arm over Hajime "damn, that was one heck of a game."

"Hmm. Nishinoya improved exponentially" Hajime commented "how hard did he train during the summer?" he directed the question to Tanaka, who was packing his gear into his duffel bag. 

"We played one-on-one almost every day at my sister's house." Tanaka responded with a laugh "though we stopped once the school year restarted, and boy, did he learn some new tricks." 

"When it comes to Quidditch, I suppose even best friends can have secrets from each other," Hajime said, thinking of Oikawa and himself. 

"I would feel bad if that weren't the case, actually." Bokuto said, "it wouldn't be a competitive match anymore if we could predict all of each other's moves."

"I agree." Tanaka nodded, zipping his bag "I'm going to pop over to Hogsmeade to get the drinks: we only want butterbeer, rum, and tequila right?"

"Get some whiskey as well." Hajime requested 

"Got it." 

"Thanks mate, owl us if you need any help." Bokuto waved merrily to Tanaka as the latter left the room.  
They took a quick shower, making small talk with Kyoutani and Kindaichi at the same time. Hajime was quite fond of their Beaters. Even though Kyoutani was rebellious at times, the fourth year seemed to respect Hajime. On the other hand, Kindaichi was a cute blundering chick and the youngest member aside from Hinata. Just as Bokuto had taken Hinata under his wing, Hajime had made it his duty to guide Kindaichi as much as possible. 

"So, Kyoutani." Bokuto said, trying to be suave, "rumour has it that you got tamed by that Slytherin Chaser, what's his name?" 

"Yahaba Shigeru." Kindaichi supplied helpfully and was met with a bar of soap to the face courtesy of Kyoutani. 

"Bloody Fucking Merlin, Kindaichi, don't tell him!" Kyoutani hissed to a frightened Kindaichi. 

"I'm sorry, senpai!"

"I was right!" Bokuto hooted, waggling his eyebrows "who would have thought that the wild ‘Mad Dog' of Gryffindor would submit himself to someone, a Slytherin no less!" 

"Senpai." Kyoutani growled, but his flushed ears gave away his embarrassment. 

"Bokuto." Hajime nudged, taking pity on Kyoutani. "Don't bully the kyouhai." 

"Aww, but little Kyoutani here has found love. I would not be a good senpai if I didn't congratulate him properly." 

"Well, when you ‘found love', no one saw the need to ‘congratulate' you. Leave Kyoutani and Yahaba alone." 

Bokuto sulked but didn't argue. Kyoutani looked at him gratefully. 

After saying their goodbyes to their underclassmen and putting away their gear, Hajime and Bokuto strolled to the castle, intending for the common room. However, along the way, they bumped into Akaashi, which led to a solo trek back for Hajime as the couple excused themselves for some alone time. 

Hajime didn't mind; he understood that private time was scarce, given their busy schedules and accommodation—a shared room with a couple of other teenage boys was hardly the ideal place to make out. Though Hajime couldn't help but feel glum that Bokuto could do things with the person he liked, and Hajime couldn't.

Given that they were best friends, Hajime was probably the last person Oikawa wanted to romance. 

Hajime sighed as he turned a corner, and felt someone literally run into him.   
"Sorry," Hajime grunted automatically.

"Sorry, Iwaizumi-kun! I wasn't looking where I was going!" 

"Oh, Michimiya. It's all right, where are you headed to in such a hurry?" 

Michimiya paused to catch her breath before answering, "I think I was supposed to get food for the after-party, but I couldn't find the kitchens, haha. Congratulations, by the way, you did wonderfully today; I was watching." 

"Thanks." Hajime accepted the compliment with a sincere smile, blushing slightly. "If it's food, you don't need to worry. I think the rest of the boys have it covered; they've been hosting these parties for years now." 

"Oh." Michimiya said dazedly "I might have misheard, it was chaos in the common room just now." 

"Well, I'm heading back to the tower, want to come with?" Hajime suggested. 

"Sounds great." Michimiya chirped 

The prefects walked side-by-side, talking animatedly about Quidditch. Hajime found out that Michimiya liked Quidditch and played Chaser but wasn't good enough to make the team when she tried out two years ago.

"Why didn't you try this year? We had three open spots, you might have gotten in." 

Michimiya waved dismissively, "I started spending less time on my broom and more on my books. If I wasn't good enough back then, I sure as hell won't be this time. It's okay, though, I'm enjoying myself just watching Quidditch." 

"I see, hope you had fun at today's match." 

"I sure did. The team played really well today! I was kind of surprised, since the last, I heard from Dai, everyone was all over the place."

"Dai?" 

"Oh! I meant Daichi, Sawamura Daichi. Sorry, it slips out sometimes."

"You're on first name basis with Sawamura?" Hajime was taken aback as he didn't think his captain and co-prefect would be so familiar with each other. In fact, he didn't even know they were acquainted. 

"Yeah…we actually went exclusive, but it didn't really work out. We broke up around a month ago. Don't spread this around, though, not many people knew."

"All right, sorry I asked." Hajime apologized. He felt bad for reminding Michimiya of her ex-boyfriend.

"No worries, I'm over it!" Michimiya's voice sounded normal, like she no longer held any romantic affection for Sawamura. However, Hajime knew better than to take things at face value; some people were just extremely good actors. 

Quickly changing the subject, Hajime started discussing his favourite Quidditch teams. Michimiya seemed to perk up and happily joined the conversation. 

They began to hear loud music when the neared the Fat Lady's portrait. The woman was chugging down a bottle of wine, chatting drunkenly with another portrait of two men.

Michimiya had to shout the password twice to get the Fat Lady's attention, and when she finally noticed them, she gave an indignant sniff and grumpily unlocked the entrance for them. 

"Iwaaaaaaizumi-san!" Hinata bounded over and leaped into an unsuspecting Hajime. 

"Hinata?" Hajime let out, and upon catching the scent of Firewhiskey, asked. "Are you tipsy already? It's only been an hour!"

"'Am nawt…" Hinata slurred 

"How much did he have to drink?" Hajime asked another third year, a lanky brunette who looked just a little more sober than Hinata. 

"I just gave him one glass, I swear! I didn't know he was such a lightweight!" The brunette defended 

Hajime pinched the bridge of his nose, his other arm keeping Hinata from peppering kisses all over his face; the boy seemed to be a clingy drunk. 

"Anyone wants to play jinxed truth or dare!!!" Yamamoto hollered, his voice cutting through the music.

"ME!" Hinata shouted, hurriedly stumbling over to where the upperclassmen were gathered in a circle.

"Ahh, wait, Hinata!" The brunette yelled, going after Hinata.

Now Hajime wasn't that close to Hinata, but he did have a moral compass. Leaving two innocent third years with a pack of sixth and seventh years did not seem like it would end well. 

Hajime sighed; the things he did for his underclassmen. "I'll play too!"

"In that case, I'll join." Michimiya decided

The circle expanded to make room for additional players. Currently, there were about fifteen people in the circle. 

"Remember, this game is jinxed so if anyone lies or tries to chicken out of a dare, you'll have an outbreak of red spots all over, which will only go away in a day!" Yamamoto cackled evilly, spinning the empty firewhiskey bottle placed in the centre. It landed onto a seventh-year boy, who was dared to kiss a girl outside of the circle amidst the squeals and catcalls. 

The game continued without much fanfare—not something Hajime hadn't seen before—until the bottle stopped, pointing at Hinata. 

"Truth or dare?"

"Anything! I'm fine with both!"

Hajime gave a level stare to the more mischievous seventh years, daring them to just try anything remotely R21. Thankfully, they seemed to get the hint.

"So, our beloved, little Seeker." Yamamoto started, shooting the third year a foxy grin "Do you have anyone you fancy?"

"What? Y-yes, I do." Hinata squeaked, his voice barely heard against the loud bass. 

"Ooooh!" A girl cooed. Hinata blushed even harder. 

Hinata spun the bottle, which pointed to Hajime this time. 

"I'll take truth." 

"Out of all the girls in the entire school, who do you want to kiss the most?" 

Hajime thought for a moment. He was absolutely relived that Fukunaga specified ‘girl', or else he would be in hot water. Oikawa aside, there wasn't anyone he felt particularly wanted to suck face with. However, the word ‘most' dictated that he give a name, lest he suffer from an outbreak of boils. 

Hajime crossed his arms and tried to think of the prettiest girl he knew.

"Come on, Iwaizumi, don't be shy." Yamamoto teased, mistaking his lack of an answer for hesitancy. 

Hajime glanced awkwardly at Michimiya. He couldn't lie, so he prayed to all the gods he knew that she didn't take it the wrong way, "Michimiya Yui." 

Michimiya's face turned beet red.

Out of all the girls he knew, he felt that Michimiya was the most attractive of them all, speaking objectively. If it weren't for the fact that he didn't bat the other team, he honestly wouldn't mind kissing her. 

Though, even if he had the desire to lock lips with Michimiya, it wouldn't mean that he had feelings for her.

"I sense an illicit love blooming here." 

"Make sure to actually do your prefect duties you two." 

"Ha ha ha! I deserve the ‘Cupid of the Year' award!" Fukunaga boasted. 

"Congrats, Yui!" A tipsy sixth-year girl sang, giving Michimiya a quick hug. "You just bagged yourself one hot Chaser!"

Michimiya smiled wryly and wouldn't meet Hajime's eyes for the rest of the night. 

Hajime wanted to bang his head repetitively on the walls. Hopefully, he would get amnesia and forget that this night ever happened. 

\--

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, I've done the Quidditch part justice. 
> 
> Let's see what this'll lead to because I myself have no idea how this is going to end *sweats nervously*. Stay tuned for more Iwaoi shenanigans :3
> 
> Critique is welcomed!


	5. Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Things just got really interesting.” Kuroo mused, clearly enjoying the situation way more than Hajime was.

“Tell me why we’re down here in the cold dungeons practicing spells instead of enjoying our free period like the rest of our classmates are doing.” Bokuto whined. 

“Because we have a quiz coming up in less than two hours?” Oikawa said

“And because you suddenly had this bright idea to learn the Patronus charm, even if it is totally unnecessary.” Hajime added bitterly. Just because he had warmed up to the idea doesn’t mean he had to be enthusiastic about sacrificing his free time for it. 

“There, there, Iwaizumi. It’s not all that bad. What ever happed to ‘the journey matters more than the destination’.”? Kuroo quoted in his best Hajime-like voice, “that, and I really do feel that this spell is going to come in handy one day. No harm in learning it.”

“Easy for you to say, Mister ‘I’m-very-good-at-DADA’.” Hajime muttered. He was frustrated with his barely there shield charm, having been at it for an hour now. 

“Cheer up, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa chimed in, “at least you have a knack for Transfiguration. That’s my worst subject. My teacup had fur and even fleas in it for my practical exam last year. It was horrible! Professor Takeda wouldn’t stop laughing!”

“Yes, Oikawa. You’ve told us like what, a hundred times.” Kuroo said 

“Bro, what’s the incantation for that counter spell that works almost every time? I can’t seem to remember it.” Bokuto asked, scratching his head.

“Finite Incantatem.”

“And how do you defend yourself if a Hinkypunk decides to attack you?” 

Almost an hour and many questions later, when Hajime felt satisfied with his proficiency in beginner and intermediate DADA content, he felt it was prudent to take a short break. 

“I think we’re ready for Professor Ukai’s quiz now.” Oikawa declared proudly. They had revised DADA with more vigour than the other subjects they had touched on today in classes, to the point where Hajime was certain he could produce some of the easier counter-jinxes non-verbally.

“We’ll blow him away with our pure awesome-ness.” Bokuto cheered, his eyes sparkling.

Hajime couldn’t help but crack a smile. Even though there were a few tricky ones that he had yet to succeed, Hajime was feeling good.

“By the way,” Hajime spoke, “I’ve figured out the Vanishing charm yesterday, just thought I’d say.”

Three pairs of eyes snapped to him, wide with disbelief. 

“Are you joking?” Kuroo said faintly in what Haijime hoped was awe. “That same spell we tried in class and failed spectacularly?” 

“Dude! You’re probably the first person in our class to nail it.” Bokuto exclaimed

“That’s my Iwa-chan!” Oikawa purred, bumping his cheek with Hajime’s 

"Get off me," Hajime said gruffly, thankful his voice didn't break from nervousness. Oikawa being flirty with Hajime gave him the jitters mostly because he still hasn't gotten the hang of the ‘being rejected by your best friend' business yet.

How does one get over heartbreak and still be able to remain best friends with the very person who ripped your heart to pieces (without even intending to)?

“And don’t ‘my Iwa-chan’ me, I’m not yours.” He added firmly, thankful that his voice showed no trace of his insecurity. No matter how much his heart wished for it, it’d never come to fruition anyway. 

Oikawa rubbed his cheek against Hajime’s, “but sooner or later, you’ll fall for my charms. After all, who can ever resist the great Oikawa Tooru?” 

Kuroo and Bokuto burst into rambunctious laughter, clutching and slapping each other like hyenas on steroids. 

Pushing down the snap response of ‘I already fell for you, and I don’t even know why I like you; you’re such a narcissistic asshole.’ Hajime forced himself to respond appropriately, “contrary to what you may think, Shittykawa, the world doesn’t revolve around you. Remove yourself before I make you impotent.” 

Oikawa harrumphed, warm puffs of air ghosting Hajime’s ear. “So scary Iwa-chan, if you continue acting so crassly, you’ll never get yourself a girlfriend!” 

“Three…two…”

“Okay, okay.” Thankfully, Oikawa seemed to get the hint and pulled his overinflated head away from Hajime’s. “Violence is not appropriate, even though it might be normal for you back in your cave.” 

“One more word.” Hajime said slowly “and I will not teach you the vanishing charm.” 

Oikawa’s jaw dropped in horror, “you wouldn’t.” 

Hajime smiled wickedly. Even though he had never actually gone through with any of his threats, it was still satisfying to watch Oikawa squirm “I will.” 

“Well, that’s good.” Kuroo interjected, grinning widely “That means I’ll beat Oikawa in Transfiguration.” 

“You both are so mean!” Oikawa fake sobbed, “I thought we were friends!”

“So Iwaizumi,” Bokuto said merrily, ignoring Oikawa “can you teach it to us?” 

Hajime ended up spending the remainder of his break helping his three friends to successfully cast the vanishing charm. They finally finished with considerably less parchment than when they started. In fact, Hajime thought that they had used more parchment for the vanishing charm than they did for a week’s worth of homework. 

“Evanesco.” Oikawa cast for the final time. The scrap of parchment folded in on itself and disappeared without delay

"Nice job, Oikawa," Hajime said sincerely.

Oikawa beamed so brightly he could give the sun a run for its money. His lips stretched widely in a beautiful smile as he looked at Hajime appreciatively. It was Hajime’s most favourite expression.

Hajime felt like he could stare at it all day.

Unfortunately, Oikawa broke the spell by looking at his wristwatch and letting out a loud screech. “Guys! Two minutes to DADA!” 

“Shit, hope Ukai comes late today! We better scram!” Kuroo said, hastily packing his bag. 

They had a few minutes and around ten staircases to climb. If they weren’t sportsmen with strict training regimens, Hajime was sure they would have passed out from overexertion. Luckily for them, Professor Ukai. Snr was late, and they managed to collapse into their seats in time. 

"3.02…Thank god, he's not here yet." Hajime panted

“It would be bad…if we made him angry today…" Oikawa breathed heavily as he wiped sweat from his brow with a handkerchief—not alien printed this time.

“There’s my week’s worth of exercise…right there.” Bokuto groaned, slumped over the table

After managing to catch his breath, Hajime bent down to open his bag to take out his stationery and book. Just then, an ink bottle stopper rolled by, stopping at his feet.

“Oh, that’s mine! Sorry about…that…” 

Hajime looked up, his muscles tense, to see Michimiya right in front of him. Her face was frozen into a smile, and by the looks of it, she wasn’t feeling any differently from what Hajime was feeling right now:

Embarrassed, awkward, and socially inept. 

Hajime had meant to explain the situation to her the moment the game’s secrecy jinx wore off, but either he had no luck in finding people, or Michimiya was going out of her way to avoid him; this was the first time he saw Michimiya since that night. 

“Um, Hi. Uh…”

"This is yours, right?" Hajime said tersely, pulling her wrist gently and dropping the stopper inside.

“T-Thanks, Iwaizumi-kun.” Michimiya stuttered, her face heating up.

"No problem." Hajime smiled awkwardly.

“Sorry I’m late, we had a staff meeting which overran, I hope you don’t mind.” The old professor said frustratingly as he strode into the classroom, startling the both of them.

Michimiya practically scurried back to her seat.

The professor put his briefcase beside his desk and straightened his slightly creased robes. “So, can anyone tell me where we stopped last lesson?” 

Kuroo craned his head towards Hajime, a sly smile in place. “So, what’s up with you and that Gryffindor chick?”

"Nothing," Hajime said a little too quickly. Kuroo’s dubious look told Hajime that he was going to have to try harder if he wanted to convince him. 

"It was just a misunderstanding, a truth or dare went out of control. Quit looking at me like that."

“Wait, aren’t you and Michimiya-san dating?” Hajime and Kuroo looked back simultaneously to face Semi, who unexpectedly decided to join in on the conversation. 

Hajime’s eyes bulged in incredulity. His mouth twisted into a grimace as he tried very hard not to yell; not when Professor Ukai Senior is there. He just could not believe what he was hearing. 

Kuroo’s mouth formed a wide ‘O’.

“Semi,” if Semi were not a reserved person by nature, Hajime would think Semi was pulling his leg. “Why would you think that Michimiya and I were together?” 

Semi gave him a confused look, "practically the whole dorm was buzzing about it. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it. The grapevine said that you confessed to her during the party on the weekend, and now, you two are together…" Semi paused, raising an eyebrow at Hajime's gobsmacked expression. "If you're reacting that way…I guess it wasn't true?"

“Like hell it is!” Hajime seethed. No wonder Michimiya was acting that way around him; she had every right to when Hajime caused her to be unjustly subjected to people’s wild speculations and judgments.

Hajime really needed to diffuse the situation, stat. 

“The rumour wasn’t entirely baseless.” Hajime admitted to Semi, “but what is true is that Michimiya and I are purely platonic. One-hundred percent platonic.” He emphasized. 

"Duly noted." Semi responded dryly, "but telling me won't do much because the news spread like wildfire. By now, probably half the school knows it."

Hajime groaned

“Things just got really interesting.” Kuroo mused, clearly enjoying the situation way more than Hajime was. 

“Fuck you.” 

“I’m good, thanks.” 

Hajime tried to focus on the theory of the spell they’re currently learning, but in his current state of mind, Professor Ukai Senior’s pearls of wisdom may as well be mindless noise. He ended up wasting the one-hour period predicting Michimiya’s reactions to his overdue apology, getting absolutely no learning done. 

"I won't assign you homework on this yet, but do read page 472 of The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection. It would help you understand it better.” Professor Ukai Senior concluded. “If there are no questions, I’ll end the lesson now. Have a pleasant afternoon.” 

The classroom was filled with the sound of chair legs scratching against the floor as students started standing up to leave. Hajime followed suit, wanting to catch Michimiya before she disappeared. 

“Iwa-chan!" Oikawa called, "where are you going? We're supposed to meet sensei, remember?"

Amidst the hullabaloo surrounding Hajime's relationship status, Hajime had completely forgotten about their agreement with the Professor. He was torn between remaining with the gang and going after Michimiya, but Oikawa, oblivious to his inner turmoil, made the choice for him by going over to grab his hand. 

Hajime sent a telepathic apology to Michimiya as he let Oikawa lead him, the taller boy’s warm hand encapsulating his.

It seemed like Hajime would have to postpone his apology.

\--

Learning the Patronus charm became an extracurricular activity of some sort; from next week onwards, the four of them have an appointment every Friday evening with Professor Ukai Senior to work on the Patronus charm. The professor did mention that he would owl the Ministry to check whether this can be considered extra credit for the OWLs. Until then, it was a hobby with no real purpose other than the fact that Hajime's too-clever friends wanted to learn it.

At the Slytherin table, Oikawa and Kuroo were currently engaged in a lively discussion on what they had learned about the Patronus charm, their dinner barely touched. Next to them, Bokuto was doing homework with Akaashi helping him (ironic, since Akaashi was a year younger). As for Hajime, he was eating methodically, shooting glances towards the Gryffindor table every few seconds for an apt timing to approach Michimiya. 

Eventually, Oikawa and Kuroo caught onto Hajime’s too-quiet behaviour.

“Iwaizumi keeps looking at the Gryffindor table. Does Iwaizumi have a significant other he’s not telling his friends about?” Kuroo joked, “maybe a certain someone whose surname starts with ‘Mi’?”

That bastard. He already knew that Hajime harboured no more than friendly feelings for Michimiya. Why was he doing this?

“Iwa-chan has someone he likes! Why didn’t you tell me?” Oikawa screeched, hurt written all over his face. 

“No! God damn it, Kuroo. I am not dating Michimiya, I do not have romantic inclinations for her, and I do not want to kiss her! It’s all just a misunderstanding!” Hajime burst out, slamming his fork and knife down in anger. The table shook slightly from the force.

“Wait, so you didn’t confess to her at the party a few days ago?” Bokuto asked, looking up from his homework. 

“A senpai said that you expressed your interest in her during a game of jinxed truth or dare, and it so happens that she returned the sentiment," Akaashi explained calmly. “Did that not actually happen, Iwaizumi-san?” 

“I couldn’t believe it at first! But Akaashi heard the same thing all the way at Ravenclaw, so I kind of assumed it was true…I was wondering when you were going to tell us, actually.” Bokuto added.

“We didn’t hear a single thing at Slytherin!” Oikawa said hotly. 

"Not this morning, but if we go back now, we might. Slytherin hardly interacts with Gryffindor, so it makes sense that news would take time to spread.” Kuroo reminded. 

"Can someone just tell me what is going on?" Oikawa demanded.

“We played jinxed truth or dare. When it was my turn, I got asked ‘which girl do you want to kiss the most’, something along those lines. I answered Michimiya. For the record, she hadn’t said anything, so I don’t know why the rumour mill is so active.” Hajime clarified

“Rumours tend to be farfetched," Kuroo said

“Although gossipers exaggerate a lot, they wouldn’t do so unless they thought it was true. Either that, or they had another objective, like gaining popularity. I think there is a chance that Michimiya reciprocates, but is still too shy to say so.” Akaashi explained logically. 

Oikawa let out a noise. 

“Akaaashi! You’re so smart!” Bokuto crooned, planting a kiss on his cheek.

Akaashi made sense, but Hajime could think of two weaknesses to his theory: one, there was no way Michimiya liked him that way. Two, he didn't think there was anything to gain from spreading their supposed romantic lives around the school. 

“Merlin’s pants.” Hajime sighed, “do the students of Hogwarts have nothing better to do?” 

“Well, you both are pretty well known in school.” Akaashi pointed out, “Michimiya-san was voted the 5th prettiest girl by the student body, and you’re the starting Chaser in Gryffindor’s Quidditch team. It’s no wonder that other students take interest in your love lives.” 

"You're ranked the hottest boy in school, yet I don't see anyone gossiping about you," Hajime muttered petulantly. Luckily, no one seemed to hear him.

“Do you guys think she really likes Iwa-chan?” Oikawa asked excitedly. It stung a little that Oikawa was completely unaffected by it, but who was he kidding? Oikawa will never see him as anything more than a best friend. 

“According to my senpai, who’s a close friend of Michimiya-san, she does," Akaashi replied. “However, I don’t know her personally. Bokuto-san, as her housemate, what do you think?” 

“Hmm, I don’t know, I do know they’re close…but there’s one thing I don’t really understand.” Bokuto trailed off.

“What?” 

"Iwaizumi just basically confessed to her. I mean, it's not the most ideal way, but it's still a confession nevertheless, just that she hasn't given an answer yet. That means that there’s still hope! All Iwaizumi has to do is wait for her answer, and the dating rumours won’t be false anymore! I don’t get why you guys are so hung up over this.”

If only it was that simple, Bokuto. Hajime thought despairingly.

“Bokkun, she might not feel the same way," Oikawa said in a strained voice.

“If Akaashi thinks she does, then I think so too," Bokuto said confidently. 

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said exasperatedly 

“Bokuto’s right, you know.” Kuroo piped up after remaining quiet for a long time. “Worse case scenario, she rejects you, but you’ll get over her someday. As for the grapevine, they’ll move on once another hot piece of news comes along. In conclusion, just wait for Michimiya-san to approach you first. There, problem solved.”

“But the thing is, I don’t even like her that way, and I know she doesn’t as well. The rumours are inconveniencing not only myself but her as well! That's my problem." Hajime countered

“You won’t know until she tells you," Kuroo argued, his eyes sharp and brimming with conviction. "Just to clarify, the question asked was ‘which girl in school do you want to kiss’ right?” Hajime nodded, and Kuroo continued. “Since this is jinxed truth or dare, the fact that you answered Michimiya shows that you're attracted to her, or at least want to kiss her. So, you cannot say that you don't like her, Iwaizumi." 

“That’s true. I can’t think of any way you can shimmy out of this one, with the question so clear cut.” Bokuto agreed. “Based on your answer, I think you do like her romantically, mate.”

The thing is, Hajime knew that he doesn’t feel that way for Michimiya. Bokuto and Kuroo didn’t seem to notice the very obvious ‘loophole’ to the question: if you’re gay, you wouldn’t feel any desire to kiss a girl, but you’d still have to answer anyway. One would have to assume that Hajime was straight to pose that question in order to get the true answer, and that erroneous assumption was what caused this ensuing predicament.

Hajime didn’t think he was ready to come out of the closet just yet, so he had no choice but to accede to Kuroo argument.

“Oh my! Iwa-chan likes Michimiya!” Oikawa cooed in a high falsetto. “Finally, Iwai-chan’s hormones are working like the rest of us! Congratulations." Even though Oikawa's voice was cheery, Hajime noticed that his smile was a notch too bright and that his eyes didn’t seem to reflect the same happiness he was trying to portray.

Oikawa was putting on a fake smile again, Hajime realized with a frown.

Before Hajime could begin to figure out the cause behind Oikawa’s sudden mood change, he saw Michimiya leave her group of friends and approach the Slytherin table, heading directly towards Hajime. 

Hajime suddenly felt self-conscious, discreetly checking his reflection on the curve of a bowl of jelly.

“Will you look at that? Looks like you won’t have to wait anymore.” Bokuto hooted 

“Go and get yourself a hot chick, Iwaizumi.” Kuroo teased. 

Michimiya stepped up to the Slytherin table, her face sporting a light blush. She twirled a length of hair around her finger, shifting from foot to foot. “Iwaizumi-kun, may I have a word with you privately?” 

"S-sure. Hajime managed, almost knocking his goblet over. "Let's go." 

It's okay, Hajime thought, rising from his seat. Michimiya will apologetically reject him, he'll accept it, and they can go back to the status quo. 

 

"I'll see you later, Iwaizumi-san," Akaashi said politely. When their eyes met, Hajime detected a curious glint in the younger boy’s eyes, not quite masked by his usual deadpan. Akaashi had always an inquisitive person, so Hajime didn’t pay too much attention to it.

Michimiya led him along the corridor to a secluded garden and sat on a stone bench near a statue, beckoning Hajime to do the same. Hajime slowly sat down, making sure to keep a respectable distance from her.

“Michimiya, I’m so sorry that—…” Hajime began but was interrupted when Michimiya pressed a finger to his lips.

“Listen to me first, Iwaizumi-kun.” Michimiya requested. Hajime did so, pursing his lips together. 

"That night, you said you wanted to kiss me out of all the girls in the entire school," Michimiya recalled. Hajime nodded, feeling blood rush to his cheeks. 

“What if…I said that I feel the same? Out of the boys here, I…would like to kiss you the most.” Michimiya’s voice faded off, as if unsure of herself. 

“Huh.” Hajime let out stupidly, not quite understanding. 

“I like you too, Iwaizumi-kun.” 

So that's what she meant. Hajime thought. Now was his cue to gracefully accept her rejection...

Oh, Wait.

Michimiya looked at him expectantly.

What.

Hajime felt as if he was struck by lightning. Did she really say what he thought she said?

“You like me? Romantically?” Hajime repeated with disbelief.

“Yes, Iwaizumi-kun.” Michimiya answered amusedly, “I believe that was the ‘like’ I was referring to when I said I wanted to kiss you.” 

“I’m sorry I took so long to give you an answer.” Michimiya continued guiltily, “I needed to sort out my feelings, to see whether what I felt for you was real or just because of my breakup with Dai. Now that I know that I genuinely like you, I feel at ease in accepting your confession. I’m really sorry I avoided you for the past three days.” 

If this were a normal confession to the correct person, Hajime would be elated, probably pulling the other in for a bone-crushing hug at this moment. However, this was not the case. Michimiya’s feelings for him completely threw him off, making his mental preparations for this moment futile.

Akaashi was right, Hajime realized, his heart sinking. Michimiya really did like him.

Hajime just could not believe the situation he was in: he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Right now, he had two options. One: come out to Michimiya and reveal that it was a misunderstanding, greatly embarrassing her and consequently losing their friendship. Two: go along with it, hope that her feelings aren't that strong, and then find a way to break it off as peacefully and drama-free as possible. 

Hajime opted for the option that dealt the least damage.

“Wow, I can’t believe it, you really do like me?” Hajime repeated dazedly

“Yes, I do, Iwaizumi-kun.” Michimiya giggled. “Shall we go steady?” 

“We shall.” Hajime smiled softly. He really did miss Michimiya’s company even if he didn't have romantic inclinations towards her. He felt like he could do this, dating her couldn't be too different from being friends, could it?

Michimiya returned him a pretty smile, leaning into him to peck him on the lips. Hajime tilted his head to avoid a nose bump. He felt smooth, strawberry-scented lips touch his, lasting no more than a second, before she moved back. 

Hajime unconsciously rubbed his lips together to get rid of the slick, unpleasant feeling of lip gloss. 

“Uh…” Hajime was at a loss for words. What does one say after their first kiss with their first girlfriend? 

“Come on, don’t be so awkward!” Michimiya laughed, looking down at her wristwatch, “oh my, I have to go. I promised I’d meet my friends in five minutes.”

This prompted Hajime to look at his own watch. It still dinnertime, so Oikawa and the rest should still be in the Great Hall. However, he didn’t know whether he should immediately head back to the hall, or…

"Do…do you want me to walk you there?" Hajime stuttered. He remembered how Oikawa used to walk with some of his fangirls to their classes, and thought that the same thing can be applied to girlfriends. 

Michimiya stood up, shooting him an amused smile as she smoothed her skirt, “no need. I’ll see you soon, Iwaizumi-kun.” 

“See you.” Hajime waved back.

Michimiya spun around on her heels and bounced away, leaving Hajime sitting on the stone bench as his mind tried to wrap itself around this...unforeseen development.

Eventually, Hajime managed to comfort himself with the hope that he’d develop feelings for Michimiya sooner or later, that he wasn’t only into boys (read: Oikawa) like he had initially thought. 

In the meantime, what’s the worst that could happen?

\--  
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, what do you guys think about the direction of this fic? It sounded great when I was high on lack of sleep (weird, I know), but maybe not so much after I typed it all out.
> 
> Feel free to leave a critique! (Though no flaming pls)


	6. Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was going on between the two of them? Why was Oikawa avoiding him, and why was Kuroo lying to him?

Oikawa was definitely avoiding him. 

It struck Hajime odd that he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Oikawa this entire morning. Even on days where their schedules never coincide, the chirpy boy would always find a way to bother Hajime. 

So what was going on? 

Hajime had wanted to formally introduce Michimiya as his girlfriend to his friends at breakfast, but when they had reached the Great Hall, only Kuroo and Bokuto were there, along with Kenma and Akaashi at the Ravenclaw table. Apparently, Oikawa had overslept and told Kuroo to go ahead first. He introduced them to Michimiya anyway, since he didn’t want to make her think he was backing down.

Initially, Hajime didn’t suspect anything, but as time drew on, and no sign of the perky brunette even during their common lunch break, Hajime was starting to sweat. 

He tried to recall whether he had done anything to warrant such behaviour but drew a blank. Asking Kuroo got him nowhere either, as the black-haired boy had merely shrugged, relaying whatever excuse Oikawa had fed him, something about unfinished homework. 

By then, Hajime had called bullshit, he had known Oikawa since they were toddlers after all, and was on a manhunt for the Chaser. He checked all of their usual spots, the library (he was right about homework being an excuse), the kitchens, and even the dungeons, but came up empty-handed. 

“Damn it, Oikawa, where are you?” Hajime muttered, clenching his fists to reign in his anger. Who wouldn’t be mad when your best friend of ten years inexplicably gave you the cold shoulder? It was even more so when said best friend was Oikawa Tooru, the world’s most prissy, high-maintenance best friend, in Hajime’s humble opinion.

He leaned against the rough limestone wall, wiping the sweat off his brow with his sleeve. There was still the grassy field behind the school that he hadn't checked…

“Osu,” Hanamaki appeared in front of him, raising a hand in greeting. 

“Yo," Hajime replied, nodding his head.

“What’re you doing down here?”

“Oh…” Hajime hesitated. Would Hanamaki think him dumb if Hajime told him that he was scouring the castle for Oikawa?

After a split-second inner debate, Hajime decided that there was no harm in asking. “Have you seen Oikawa?”

Hanamaki looked surprised. “I saw him in the Great Hall just five minutes ago. If you go now, you can catch him, I think.” 

So Hajime had just spent the first half of his break running around like a headless chicken, worried, while Oikawa was chilling out and having lunch? Even though he told Kuroo he wouldn’t be having lunch? 

This smelled like one of Oikawa’s petty conspiracies.

"Thanks, Hanamaki.” Hajime gritted his teeth, his anger spiking up. 

“No problem. Did you two have a fight or something?” Hanamaki voiced, slouching onto one foot. 

“No, we didn’t. Why?” 

Hanamaki tapped his chin, “dunno…he seemed subdued last night. When I asked, instead of whining like he usually does, he just said, ‘it’s nothing, Makki!’ Oikawa, turning down a chance to bitch about his daily life? Now that’s worrying if you ask me.”

On the surface, Oikawa was narcissistic, pompous and an attention-hog who loved to brag about himself, but that was just a projection. In reality, Oikawa was one of the most secretive, insecure people Hajime ever knew and was the type to bottle it all up until he exploded. 

When Oikawa got hurt, he tended to shy away from human interaction, and that was exactly what he was doing now, if what Hanamaki said was anything to go by.

Hajime couldn’t believe he only figured that out now. His anger all but evaporated, replaced with concern. “When we were talking in the hall during dinner, he was fine. Around when did this happen?” 

“Hmm, it was after curfew. He and the others were chatting in the common room. I wasn’t there, but when I came down, he was already like that.” 

Now Hajime was even more confused. If it was after curfew, then Hajime couldn’t have done anything to him, since they were on opposite ends of the castle. 

“Thanks, Hanamaki.” 

Now that Hajime had a lead on Oikawa’s current whereabouts, he wasted no time in getting there, breaking off into a sprint. His calves burned as he took the stairs three at a time and sweat trickled down his forehead like condensation on a cold water bottle, but he continued running. He needed to find out what was wrong with Oikawa and fast because Oikawa cannot be left alone when upset. 

Hajime could still remember the last time Oikawa spiraled into a whirlpool of anger and self-doubt about his flying; he had trained himself to the bone and had to be sent to the hospital wing for overexertion. As Oikawa’s best friend, Hajime would not allow Oikawa to injure himself again, mentally or physically.

Hajime stopped momentarily at the top of the stairs to catch his breath. The Great Hall’s large double doors were in view now, and he could only hope that Oikawa was still there.

Hajime burst into the Great Hall, frantically looking around like a thirsty man for water. Oikawa was nowhere to be seen. Kuroo and Bokuto were gone as well. In fact, there was not a lot of familiar faces within Hajime’s field of vision. He wanted to stamp his feet in frustration. For someone with a throng of fangirls tailing him day and night, Oikawa was extremely hard to find when he didn’t want to be found. 

Deciding that he would just try again later, Hajime began scanning the tables for an empty spot to sit. He hadn’t had lunch yet and his throat felt like the Sahara desert from all that running. 

There were relatively fewer people at the corner of the Ravenclaw table, so Hajime decided that he would sit there. He walked past a group of familiar-looking boys, and did a double take, taking a closer look at the black-haired boy. 

"Good afternoon Iwaizumi-san," Akaashi said politely once he had seen Hajime. 

Kenma looked up from his Nintendo and nodded to Hajime, his eyes never leaving his game. 

“Why don’t you take a seat and drink something?” Akaashi asked, gesturing to the empty space opposite himself. “You looked like you just ran a marathon.”

Hajime sat down gratefully. An empty goblet materialized in front of him, into which he poured some water from the jug and gulped it down. 

Next to him was a third person, a blonde boy, who Hajime wasn’t acquainted with, but he didn’t seem to mind Hajime’s presence, for he was concentrating on today’s Daily Prophet.

When he was sufficiently hydrated and in a condition to talk, he questioned Akaashi and Kenma on his friends’ whereabouts, especially that of a certain pesky best friend who seemed to be dead set on avoiding him today. 

“Just now, he came in with Kuro.” Kenma replied after pausing his game. “Grabbed something then went out again.” So Hanamaki wasn't hallucinating, after all, Hajime was just a step too late. 

“Kuroo-san even stopped by to say hi before he left with Oikawa," Akaashi added. 

“He was with Kuroo?” Hajime repeated with surprise. Something was definitely off now. Kuroo had told him that he never saw Oikawa today out of lessons, and even told him that Oikawa was ‘going to the library to do a Charms essay and won’t be joining us for lunch.’ 

What was going on between the two of them? Why was Oikawa avoiding him, and why was Kuroo lying to him? 

Akaashi and Kenma shared a brief look. 

“I’m sure they have an explanation for it. I wouldn’t worry about it too much for now.” Akaashi placated, being the peacemaker he was. 

“Kuro wouldn't betray his friends," Kenma said softly yet firmly, resuming his battle in the Nintendo. 

Hajime sighed, running a hand through his spikey hair. For the sake of his mental health, he decided to take Akaashi’s advice. He spent the last of his free period debating about the Minister for Magic candidates for next year’s election with Akaashi and the blonde, taking out some of his anger by lashing out against his least favourite candidate. 

For the rest of the afternoon, Hajime immersed himself in his classes, none of them with Slytherin. Between lessons, Hajime had tried asking Bokuto if he knew anything, and was met with a blank look. Apparently, Bokuto hadn’t even noticed that Oikawa and Kuroo were being evasive.

After his last class, Hajime went and checked all of their usual evening hangouts and stopped many confused passers-by in his quest to track down Oikawa. Eventually, he caught wind that Oikawa was at the slope near the lake, and immediately rushed there  
, half-ready to punch his troublesome best friend.

He found Oikawa lounging on the plateau alone, idly throwing pebbles into the lake and looking deep in thought. The wind caressed his hair, giving it a natural, tousled look as he gazed aimlessly at the setting sun, allowing it to cast a warm glow over his creamy complexion. The serene smile that graced his lips knocked the breath out of Hajime, for it was one of Oikawa’s rare, soft smiles that was Hajime’s personal favourite. Every facial feature of Oikawa’s came together like well-fitted cogs, moving together immaculately to produce the photogenic face Hajime knew and loved. He suddenly wished he owned a Penseive, just so he could revisit and admire this rarely seen side of Oikawa.

The rush of emotions that grasped him were paralyzing, like he had been electrocuted. He could stand there for hours and admire Oikawa basking in the evening light as he tried to make pebbles hop along the waters. 

It was Oikawa who inadvertently snapped Hajime out of his infatuated daze by shifting his legs into a more comfortable position.

Hajime steeled himself and took a determined step forward. 

The crunching of pebbles was what alerted Oikawa to the intruder. He turned around and coincidentally locked eyes with Hajime’s.

That instant was what keyed Hajime on to Oikawa’s state of mind. He watched, with despair, as Oikawa’s peaceful expression crumbled. Taking its place was a fake, fake mask of chirpiness that Hajime was definitely not buying. 

Oikawa was actually purposely evading him today, and this truth hurt him more than he'd ever admit.

“Yaa, Iwa-chan. Nice weather we have today eh?” 

Deciding to forgo the pleasantries and cut to the chase, Hajime bluntly asked, “why are you avoiding me?” 

Oikawa flinched minutely. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t avoiding you.” He said nonchalantly, looking at Hajime confusedly. 

If Hajime wasn’t as fluent in Tooru-speak as he was, he might have fallen for it. When Oikawa lied, his eyes would twitch, and twitch they did when he said that line. 

“Cut the crap Oikawa, you’re as obvious as a Revealing spell. Tell me what’s wrong. Avoiding me isn’t going to solve anything.” 

Something cracked in Oikawa’s mask. His smile fell slightly for the briefest of moments. “I was just busy today. Why, do you miss me that much?” 

“Don’t lie to me. Please, Oikawa.” He genuinely wanted to know what he did for Oikawa to feel that he needed to put on a mask in front of him of all people. 

“It’s nothing, I’m just…” Oikawa trailed off, hands gesturing vaguely. “I don’t know.” It was like all of the energy had been sucked out of him, like just talking made him weary. Hajime softened, his brows creasing with concern.

“I really don’t know why I’m pissed, but I just am. You’ve done nothing wrong.” Oikawa said

Hajime ached. Hajime yearned to pull this boy close to him and chase all his worries away. It was easier when they were kids, where one chaste kiss to the forehead could do wonders. Now, things were more complicated, and he knew problems don’t just go away just because you wished them to. 

Wordlessly, Hajime walked down the gentle slope and plopped down next to Oikawa. Ignoring the taller boy’s burning gaze, Hajime picked up a pebble and tossed it into the lake, it rebounded once before sinking into the dark blue abyss. 

Oikawa let out a displeased noise, picking up a pebble and throwing it. The pebble bounced two times before sinking. Hajime, not wanting to be outdone, immediately chose another pebble and threw it in a similar fashion. That led to the two of them beginning a spontaneous pebble-tossing competition to see who could get it to bounce the most number of times. 

“Ha! I win!” Oikawa shouted as Hajime failed to beat his record of 6 bounces. Mocha brown eyes met Hajime’s own, and he was pleased to note the sparkle of delight reflected in them. 

“Pfft.” Hajime burst out laughing, partly due to their childish competition and partly out of relief. Not a moment later, Oikawa joined in, letting out an angelic laughter that sounded like music to Hajime’s ears. 

Any awkwardness between them had dissipated like magic by then, and that was how it should be. After all, Oikawa Tooru and Iwaizumi Hajime cannot stay mad at each other for long. It didn’t matter to Hajime why Oikawa had avoided him today, as long as they were okay now.

Even though they had only not seen each other for under a day, they had a lot to catch up on. Oikawa began telling him about Professor Takeda’s brutal remark about their class’ progress with the Doubling charm, and Hajime returned the conversation with complaints about the younger Professor Ukai’s bad mood during potions. 

The conversation drifted off to other topics, with Oikawa doing most of the chattering and Hajime giving correctly timed grunts to show that he was still listening. Oikawa seemed livelier, so Hajime let him yabber on about his latest skincare product, content with just listening to his voice. They sat undisturbed at the plateau until the sun sunk below the mountains, Hajime soaking up their much-needed quality time together, until an owl swooped in and dropped a note on Hajime’s lap. 

Oikawa paused in the middle of critiquing Professor Washijou’s eyebrows to stare at the school’s barn owl perched on Hajime’s shoulder. 

Hajime unfolded the note and read the neat, cutesy handwriting presented to him. 

Iwaizumi-kun,

My friends and I are studying in the library now. If you’re free, you should come, my friends are dying to meet my boyfriend!

Yui <3

Hajime stared incomprehensibly at the note. It was a second too long later that he realized that Michimiya was his girlfriend, making Hajime her boyfriend. The guilt that followed was like being doused with ice-cold water; how could he forget about his own girlfriend?

"Who is it?" Oikawa asked, peering over Hajime's shoulder to read the note.

“Michimiya," Hajime answered. "Oh right, you weren't there this morning. I was going to tell you that I…"

Oikawa interrupted before Hajime could finish his sentence “Yeah, I heard. You and Michimiya-chan got together last night. Congratulations, Iwa-chan!” He grinned widely, shooting Hajime a thumbs-up. 

Hajime can now testify that having your crush support a romantic relationship with another person was one of the shittiest things to ever feel.

“Michimiya asked me to go to the library…do you want to come with?" 

“Of course not silly Iwa-chan, it’s your lovey-dovey time after all!” Oikawa replied, making disgusting kissy noises.

“Her friends will be there too.” Hajime deadpanned

Oikawa gave Hajime a patronizing look, "aww, are you scared of her friends? Has getting a girlfriend made Iwaizumi Hajime a pussy all of a sudden?"

"Of course not!" Hajime denied hotly, accidentally upsetting a few pebbles in his embarrassment. "I just…never mind. Forget I said anything, Shittykawa." Of course. What had he been thinking when he asked?

“Well, what are you waiting for? Your girlfriend called, so you should go! Get your ass over to the library now!” Oikawa encouraged, giving Hajime a light push. “Or do you need me to walk you there?” Oikawa added in a teasing lilt. 

Bewildered at Oikawa's sudden enthusiasm (was it just him, or was Oikawa happier about him seeing his girlfriend than he himself?), Hajime scrutinized Oikawa’s expression, finding something slightly off but not knowing exactly what. Unable to pinpoint the reason for the unsettling feeling that nested at the corner of his mind, he was forced to dismiss it; he was probably overthinking anyway.

Hajime scribbled a hasty “okay” at the back of the note and sent the owl back. 

“Are you going back to the castle now?” Hajime asked as stood up, dusting the seat of his trousers.

Oikawa shook his head, his megawatt smile still in place. “I’m going to sit here for a while more, the weather’s really nice this evening. Have fun with your girlfriend!” 

Despite Oikawa practically shooing him off, Hajime was reluctant to leave. His sixth sense was screaming at him not to leave Oikawa alone right now, for reasons currently unknown to him. 

There was also the added fact that he'd choose to spend time with Oikawa over Michimiya any day,   
but Hajime wasn't in the mood to contemplate over its implications.   
He was a responsible person, and part of being a boyfriend was attending to his girlfriend's wishes. Who was he to deny Michimiya such a simple request? 

 

Suddenly, this whole dating-someone-while-in-love-with-someone-else didn't seem as easy as it did yesterday.  
“All right. I’ll see you at dinner?” 

“Sure! Now go, you mustn’t keep a lady waiting!” Oikawa was all cheers and smiles as he bade Hajime goodbye.

Hajime nodded, walking off without even looking back. 

\--  
TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My (guilty) headcanon is when IwaOi argue, Oikawa will over-dramatize everything and Iwaizumi will be the one to set things straight XP.
> 
> On a side-note, the exam season is always so stressful *sighs tiredly*.


	7. "Happy" Halloween

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Halloween date did not go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written with a little aid from space.com because I don't know jack shit about Astronomy.

“Do you know why Europa is always bright?”

Hajime looked up from his own astronomy charts and was met with a moving model of Jupiter with all of its 53 named moons. Behind the gigantic model, Michimiya looked at him with hopeful, doe-like eyes.

“Er," Hajime uttered simply. He wasn't that well versed in Astronomy, but he did remember Oikawa telling him about it.

Reaching for his textbook, Hajime flipped to the relevant chapter and scoured the word-ridden pages for anything that might hint towards the answer. “Wait a sec...I think I remember seeing something about that here.”

“Europa is one of the Galilean moons of Jupiter, along with Io, Ganymede and Callisto” A high drawl came from behind Hajime. “The surface of Europa is frozen, covered with a layer of ice, thus providing a reflective surface. It is the most reflective and brightest moon in the solar system. ”

“Oikawa-san, good afternoon.” Michimiya chirped. “You sure know quite a bit about Astronomy!”

“I do, M’lady!” The Astronomy nerd replied, resting his elbows on Hajime’s shoulders. “Unlike this Godzilla over here, ignorant about the beauty of the moons and stars!”

“Oi, aren’t you supposed to be studying _over there_?” Hajime asked sharply, gesturing to the Slytherin table at the far end of the room.

Oikawa made a noise - which sounded like a mix between a groan and a whine - before slumping over Hajime, adding even more weight onto him. “I got bored.”

“What are you, six? Start acting your age already.” Hajime admonished, flicking Oikawa on the forehead. He laughed as Oikawa squawked, rubbing the abused spot.

“That hurt, you brute!” Oikawa mock cried, slapping Hajime on the shoulder.

“You’ll live. Now leave us alone, we’re trying to study here, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Michimiya-san, are you sure you want to study with _this guy_?” Oikawa asked, jabbing a thumb at Hajime. “He’s useless at Astronomy. You should study with great me instead!” Oikawa winked, sticking his tongue out in a way Hajime found cute.

“Shittykawa!” Hajime shouted louder than necessary to cover up his not-so- appropriate thoughts. “Stop flirting and get back to work!”

Michimiya giggled.

Oikawa cowered and backed away when Hajime raised his very thick textbook threateningly. “Fine fine, I’ll go. Sheesh Iwa-chan, so protective of your girlfriend...”

Once Oikawa had gone back to his spot, Hajime placed his book back down beside him and smiled sheepishly at Michimiya. “Sorry about him, he’s not always like this...”

Michimiya shook her head, waving off his apology. “It’s cute that you two are very close. How long have you known him?”

"More or less ten years," Hajime replied. 

“That’s really long! Your parents know each other?”

“Yeah, our mums met in a yoga class, and it turns out they got pregnant around the same time as well, so they bonded over that as well. Our birthdays are only a month apart.”

Michimiya hummed and didn’t say anything more. They returned to their respective moon charts and, for a while, tranquil quietness descended upon them.

“Iwaizumi-kun...are you free next weekend?”

Hajime briefly flicked through his mental planner to make sure he had nothing on.

“You mean Halloween? I guess I am, why’d you ask?” Hajime replied absentmindedly, scribbling down a few symbols onto his chart.

Michimiya let out a nervous puff of air, “Would you like to go to Hogsmeade together?”

“Sure, why not. Is your friend Suzumeda coming too?”

There was a momentary silence, whereby only the scratching of Hajime’s quill could be heard. Then, Michimiya added, “Just the two of us, on a date.”

Hajime stopped writing.

“Oh...W-well.” Hajime stuttered, feeling extremely foolish, “That's cool too, I guess." He wished the Earth would just open up and swallow him whole because he felt like the crappiest boyfriend in history.

Hajime would be the first to admit that he was absolutely awful at dating. He doesn’t comprehend the nuances of flirtation, nor does he understand why people make such a big deal out of Valentines’ Day. It had not struck Hajime that couples go out on dates during festive occasions, mainly because he hadn’t felt the need to.

Smiling tersely, Michimiya continued rearranging Io’s relative position around Jupiter on her model.

"I'm sorry," Hajime said, wringing his hands under the table. "Kuroo always told me I was a little dense. I don’t know why I’m so hopeless at this, maybe because I’ve never dated anyone before you?”

Michimiya softened. Hajime could see her grip slacken on the poor Io.

“So...Hogsmeade date next weekend?” Hajime asked tentatively, extending his hand towards her.

The short-haired girl stared at him with her large brown eyes, then slowly reached over to interlace her hands with his.

\--

The Halloween date did not go as planned.

Hajime and Michimiya were at Madam Puddifoot’s Tea Shop, sat oppositely on wooden chairs adorned with bright orange ribbons. On their table, perched atop the lacy tablecloth was a dessert stand laden with Halloween-themed pastries. Their rosemary teas sat by their sides, barely touched.

Everything had gone swimmingly, until the one and only Oikawa Tooru came by uninvited.

The bubbly brunette, upon entering the teashop alone, bounded towards them, blabbered a “wow, what a coincidence!” and dragged a chair over from the next table as if he had every right to be here.

The acting was superb, Hajime will give him that, but a decade of friendship had taught him to be hyperaware of Oikawa’s mannerisms. He knew that their meeting here was no coincidence.

The problem was why Oikawa would purposely find them despite Hajime telling him beforehand that he was going on a date.

Hajime sipped his tea as he stared at Oikawa’s (fake) lively expression, trying to figure out his motive behind this.

Oikawa was talking to Michimiya about the latest cosmetic line by some artiste Hajime didn’t care to know. Michimiya seemed to go along with it, although her nervousness was evident. If Oikawa noticed this, he didn’t care and kept going on, practically holding a one-man conversation.

“Oikawa.” Hajime finally said, placing his teacup back on its saucer.

Oikawa’s reaction was immediate. He turned towards Hajime, his last sentence dying off as he met Hajime’s annoyed glare.

“Why are you here?” He asked bluntly. 

“I told you, I’m meeting my date here but she hasn’t arrived! I don’t want to be this loser who sits alone at _Madam Puddifoot’s_!” As if that flimsy lie would work on Hajime.

“It’s been twenty minutes.” Hajime challenged. “Why is she not here yet? Are you sure she even exists?”

“Come on, Iwa-chan. I’ve obviously been stood up! Can’t you at least have some sympathy here?” Oikawa’s voice wavered at the last few words.

A single tear slid down his cheek, and Oikawa wiped it before continuing, in a teary voice, “I can’t believe I’ve been stood up, you know. I’ve been asking her out for the longest time, and when she finally said yes, I was so so happy. I was so excited for today, I spent an hour styling my hair, but turns out she doesn’t even feel the same.” Oikawa ended his tirade with a sniff into his handkerchief.

Hajime wanted to puke.

“Oh my...” Michimiya spoke up, her voice laced with worry, “It’s okay, Oikawa-san. A girl like that isn’t worth your time anyway.”

“I just...hoped that she at least returns a margin of my love for her, you know. Is that too much to ask for?”

“That girl doesn’t know what she’s missing out on.” Michimiya smiled comfortingly, her earlier unease replaced with understanding. “You’re an amazing person, I’m sure there’s the someone out there for you.”

“Thank you, Michimiya-san, you’re such an angel. What has Iwa-chan done to deserve someone like you?”

“Y-you flatter me, Oikawa-san.” Michimiya blushed.

Leaning back on his chair, Hajime watched this live soap opera unfold right in front of him. Oikawa was grasping Michimiya’s hand and lavishing her with over-the-top praises, sniffing his tears away. The way Oikawa gazed at Michimiya, it was like she was his salvation.

Hajime’s eyebrow twitched.

“I’m terribly sorry for crashing on your and Iwa-chan’s date.” Oikawa said sadly, “I’ll just leave and spend the holiday all alone in my room...”

“Oh no, it’s all right. You can hang out with us! You shouldn’t spend such a nice weekend alone.” Michimiya hurried, pushing the taller boy back down into his seat.

Michimiya may have fallen for his sob story hook, line and sinker, but it won't work on Hajime; he knew that Oikawa was lying.

Hajime clenched his fists under the table. Of all times, why did he choose to appear at _his_ date?

More importantly, why was he slightly happy at the sight of Oikawa even though Oikawa was blatantly third-wheeling his date with Michimiya?

Still, nothing good would come out of exposing Oikawa in front of Michimiya. Hajime drank his tea as he watched his best friend and his girlfriend converse about Professor Takeda’s haircut, his anger metre filling up with every passing minute as more speculations clouded his mind.

They were still talking even after they left the teashop, only stopping when Hajime interrupted them and said that he wanted to replenish his ink supply.

“Oh, that reminds me, I need to pop by Honeydukes to get something," Michimiya said just as they were about to enter Tomes and Scrolls.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Hajime asked.

“Nah, it’s fine. You boys can go on ahead first.” Michimiya declined, tiptoeing to plant a small kiss on Hajime’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Iwaizumi-kun, Oikawa-kun.”

“Bye bye, Michimiya-chan!” Oikawa waved, blowing a kiss at her.

Hajime felt a sudden urge to punch Oikawa and yell at Michimiya (because he doesn’t punch girls). The swirl of antagonistic emotions he had managed to clamp down was starting to leak out and poison his rationality.

In a burst of anger, Hajime yanked open the door to Tomes and Scrolls with a loud bang and stepped in without waiting for Oikawa.

The fresh scent of sand and parchment filled his nostrils. Hajime browsed around, a bouncy Oikawa behind him ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the wide array of colourful peacock feather quills.

 

Throughout his time in Tomes and Scrolls, he had not uttered a single word to Oikawa, who had tried numerous times to strike up a conversation but to no avail. He ignored Oikawa’s snide comment on his choice of ink colour and brushed him off when he asked for his opinion on a gold quill.

_Calm down Hajime. There’s no point in making a scene in public. You don’t want to get yourself kicked out of the store._

After he had paid for his purchases, Hajime left the bookstore with a bag full of inkwells. By then, Oikawa had noticed that Hajime wasn’t playing along and became quiet. The only sounds between them currently were their boots shuffling wetly along the pebbled roads of Hogsmeade.

Hajime kept a constant distance between Oikawa and himself, always walking ahead of the taller boy. The anger and hurt inside him didn’t look like they would subside. If anything, every little action of Oikawa’s only managed to add fuel to fire.

_Keep on walking. Get to somewhere private before you do anything rash, so people won’t have any evidence if you do murder him._

“Iwa-chan...?” Oikawa’s voice floated towards him, barely heard over the strong autumn wind. “Where are we going?”

Hajime stopped.

Oikawa’s voice had shifted his awareness towards his surroundings. His vision cleared and his eyes refocused onto the gray stones embedded into the footpath. It was then he realized that he had been looking down at the ground the entire time.

He looked up and saw a deserted path surrounded by dying trees. Beyond the rickety fence in front of him was the Shrieking Shack, known to many as the house of horrors.

“Ooh, so this is the Shrieking Shack. It looks so much different than in the books. We should try going in one day.” Oikawa remarked, standing next to Hajime.

One look at the taller boy’s smiling, carefree face sent his self-restraint careening into non- existence, releasing all of his bottled-up emotions all at once.

“What are you playing at?!” Hajime shouted, hands grabbing Oikawa’s robes and shaking the boy. All that pent-up frustration all the way from the teahouse had been released in one big, ferocious roar.

“Today was my first date with my her and you ruined it with your—whatever it was you were doing. Why? You’ve gone out with plenty of girls, and when it’s my turn, you get all possessive all of a sudden? Not every girl in the school has to like you, Asskawa!”

“And it’s not only today. Embarrassing me in front of her, going out of your way to intrude on our alone time, saying that she should date other guys! Why would you do this?”

Hajime ended his tirade, breathing heavily. He was still holding onto Oikawa’s clothes, inadvertently pulling the brunette so close that the tips of their noses brushed. The latter’s face was frozen in shock, his smooth, pale lips slightly parted, only a hair’s breadth away from his own.

_Please tell me you have a reasonable, logical explanation for this._

Oikawa’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“I...” Oikawa stuttered, and in any other occasion, Hajime would have felt proud for rendering Oikawa speechless.

Their eyes met. Butterflies erupted in Hajime’s stomach as he felt himself being enchanted by their allure. Unwittingly, he caught sight of his own anguished expression reflected in Oikawa’s dilated pupil.

Then, Oikawa blinked and promptly averted his gaze to the ground, breaking the connection. But still maintaining his silence.

"You're not even going to give an excuse?" Hajime barked. Suddenly, the task of breathing became Herculean. His hands trembled around the material of Oikawa's cloak, slowly losing their grip on it. He wished Oikawa would just say something _,_ anything _..._

Oikawa remained silent, his head bowed, fringe shielding his eyes.

The silence stabbed him cleanly through the chest.

Hajime brusquely pushed Oikawa away, as if scalded, causing the latter to tumble backward onto the ground.

“Go fuck yourself.” Hajime let out, his voice cracking.

Squinting his eyes to ease the sting that arose, Hajime stalked past the fallen boy without giving him a second glance.

Hajime didn’t know where he was heading to, only that he needed to get away from Oikawa. He wanted to curl up in bed, sleep, and possibly not wake up again if it meant he didn’t have to feel the huge, burning lump in his throat and chest.

Physical pain blossomed on Hajime forehead as he rammed into a tree, having not watched where he was going. He managed to centre himself in time, but then collapsed to the ground in sheer mental exhaustion.

This was the first real fight he and Oikawa had, and it was over a girl no less; so cliché.

Hajime struck his fist onto the ground; the need to release his anger was irrepressible. He repeated the motion over and over with both of his hands, pausing only to wipe away the moisture that he will never admit were tears.

Once all his energy was spent, Hajime slowed to a stop, his open wounds dyeing the ground red as blood trickled out. Worryingly, he lost all feeling in both his pinkies and ring fingers, and his right hand occasionally broke out in spasms, even when he wasn’t consciously moving it. Moreover, each twitch of his fingers sent sharp, searing pain up to his knuckles and wrists.

Even with the injuries on both his hands, what hurt Hajime the most was the thought that this might be the end of his and Oikawa’s friendship.

\-- TBC

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Io is my favourite hero from Dota 2 (moba game on steam), it's so cute xD 
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcomed!


	8. Hajime's Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He had come to the most startling revelation; one he hadn’t even considered at all yesterday; one that almost seemed too surreal… 
> 
> Oikawa had been jealous.

It was a Sunday morning. Instead of going out and enjoying the cool autumn breeze, Hajime holed up in his dormitory, on the floor, staring listlessly out of the window. 

After that fiasco of a Halloween date yesterday, Hajime was not ready to face either Oikawa or Michimiya. In fact, if Bokuto and Akaashi hadn’t found him and half carried, half dragged back, Hajime didn’t think he would have returned to the castle in one piece. He had cried and screamed his throat raw, punched the ground until half his fist went numb, and got a throbbing headache in the process. Honestly, he was lucky to have friends as great as them.

Today there had been no crying or compulsive mutilation, probably because he had already unleashed all of his emotions yesterday at Hogsmeade. Even if he wanted to cry, he couldn’t anymore. He felt hollowed out; something intrinsic in him shattered that moment he realized that Oikawa was willing to stoop so low, at Hajime’s expense, to satisfy…whatever that was he wanted. 

Be that as it may, Hajime was feeling more stable today; he was in control of his emotions, unlike yesterday. With a clear mind, he took that as a good sign regarding his current mental health, and an opportunity to psychoanalyze yesterday’s events. 

Now Hajime had always believed himself resilient and stubborn, and this should be no exception. There was no way he was letting Oikawa’s insensitivity destroy their relationship, and that was the spark needed to keep his motivation ablaze and his petulant thoughts at bay. 

Because even after all that, he still liked, no, loved Oikawa—as a best friend, a brother, a lover, a soulmate. 

Currently, the fifth-year boys' dormitory was empty besides the occasional wandering pet, encapsulating Hajime in tranquil quietness. That gave him the chance to get lost in his own mind without being disturbed.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t been thinking about the incident the entirety of last night. He did, tossing and turning in his four-poster, weary but unable to sleep due to his over active, troubled mind and eyes that threatened to let loose a waterfall at the drop of a hat. Though, Tanaka’s and Bokuto’s loud snoring wasn’t exactly conducive for thought-provoking reflections.

Thinking back to Oikawa’s actions and mannerisms over the two weeks he dated Michimiya, ‘weird’ would be an understatement to describe his behavior. At first, he paid no mind to it, because Oikawa can be pretty erratic. As the days went by, Oikawa started acting out more, too many times to be considered accidental, which culminated in the deliberate intervention of their first date. 

Now, why would someone purposely get in the way of two lovers on a date? Hajime scratched his head, trying to recall the third-wheelers he knew through the abysmal number of romance novels he'd read.

The first logical answer he had arrived to was envy. He wanted to scoff. Oikawa had fangirls throwing themselves at him every day; why would he be envious of Hajime’s one measly date? 

Hajime was confident that he knew Oikawa well. No matter what Oikawa was feeling—anger, sadness, pain or humiliation—he never let it show on his face in public, and certainly not through his actions. Hajime had been caught off guard because it was extremely out-of-character, but Oikawa was no more than a 15-year-old boy with really good self-control and discipline for his age. It shouldn’t be surprising that there’ll be slip-ups in a while. However, even if it was a slip-up, Oikawa should have been able to recollect himself before it went out of control. That could only mean that the intensity of feelings had overpowered his self-control: Hajime could only think of a handful of scenarios that could set Oikawa off this much.

He drummed his fingers on the cool marble tiles, breaking off into a nonsensical rhythm as the cogs in his brain turned. Perhaps he hadn't been spending enough time with Oikawa. Oikawa will become extremely needy and clingy if he felt Hajime had been neglecting him; a huge spat in First year that resulted in a rushed trip to the hospital wing had proven that.

However, if memory serves, he had seen more of Oikawa than of Michimiya even after he had gotten together with the latter. Whether it was during their shared classes or extracurriculars, Oikawa was always there, bothering the hell out of him. Even during his study dates or meal dates with Michimiya, Oikawa will come over to incessantly bug Hajime and ‘flirt’ with Michimiya.

Hajime’s fingers stilled

Or maybe…

He had come to the most startling revelation; one he hadn’t even considered at all yesterday; one that almost seemed too surreal… 

Oikawa had been jealous. 

It added up, Hajime realized, recollecting Oikawa’s drastic mood shifts and that stunt he pulled when he avoided Hajime for the entire day. On the surface, he acted cheery and supportive, but it was now clear that it was anything but. Oikawa was jealous because he had feelings for one of the people in the relationship… 

Guilt plagued Hajime for not realizing it sooner. How could he call himself Oikawa’s best friend when he didn’t even notice something so obvious?

At the same time, a wave of sadness washed over him, along with the painful reminder that no matter how much yearning there was, some things were just not meant to be…

However, his fervent need to clear the air between them supplied Hajime with enough adrenaline to overpower any hesitation that may have risen. 

He had to find Oikawa now.

Springing up from his spot on the floor, Hajime burst out the door and took the stairs down three at a time. The common room was deserted; it seemed like everyone had opted for the outdoors, given the good weather. 

Hajime ran towards the Great Hall. Oikawa and Kuroo could always be found studying there on the weekends. He hoped that this week wouldn’t be an exception. 

When he finally made it there, face drenched with sweat and still in his pajama hoodie, Hajime gave the room’s expanse a cursory glance. At the Slytherin table, Kuroo had his back facing him, bent over a book. 

In addition to Oikawa, Kuroo seemed suspicious as well over the past weeks. Their behaviour was as mysterious as how Trump became the Muggle president ofmuggle North America. However, Hajime had somewhat deduced that Oikawa must have confided in Kuroo, making Kuroo’s behaviour more understandable.

While that may be so, it certainly didn’t help lessen the hurricane of drama and confusion that was currently his life. Why do things have to be so complicated?

Hajime barely managed to suppress a sigh.

“Kuroo," Hajime called, going up to where he was sitting. Said person turned back when his name was called, did a double take when he saw Hajime, and immediately closed the thick book he was reading. 

“Iwaizumi!” Kuroo said welcomingly, patting the empty space next to him in an invitation to sit, “how have you been? Haven’t seen you since…Friday?” 

“Have you seen Oikawa?” Hajime asked in a rush.

“Oikawa?” Kuroo looked surprised for a moment. “He was here just now, but he just left for our dormitory. If you run, you might catch up with him.”

Hajime’s head twisted sharply towards the doors in a snap reaction, expecting to see Oikawa there. He didn’t, and it was only a moment later that he actually registered the later half of Kuroo’s answer. 

Muttering a small ‘thanks’, Hajime immediately took off in the direction of the Slytherin dormitory. He needed to see Oikawa and address the elephant in the room now that he’s high on adrenaline. Otherwise, he had a feeling he’d never do it.   
His resolve strengthening, Hajime quickened his pace. A feeling of De ja Vu flickered in his mind as he recalled the last time he went on a mad goose chase around Hogwarts for his troublesome best friend. 

The things he does for Oikawa definitely go above the job description of a best friend.

So fast was Hajime going, he ended up crashing into someone as he made a sharp turn. The female student fell to the ground, letting out a high-pitched yelp in the process. Hajime, however, managed to centre himself in time. After giving a hasty apology, Hajime sped up again without even looking to see whom he had crashed into. 

Hajime was so concentrated on finding Oikawa; he didn’t hear the female student call out his name. 

It was only when Hajime was atop of the stairwell leading down to the dungeons did he finally catch sight of Oikawa. The brunette had his back facing Hajime and was speaking to the stone wall in front of him. 

The wall dissipated to form an entrance to what could only be the Slytherin common room. Seeing that he wouldn’t make it to Oikawa in time, Hajime was left with one choice: 

“TOORU!!!” Hajime shouted as loud as he could, embarrassment be damned. 

That managed to do the trick. Oikawa turned around, his face displaying pure, adulterated shock as if he couldn't believe his ears. The stone wall started to reform, but Oikawa paid no mind to it, his eyes glued to Hajime as if starstruck. 

“Iwa-chan…” Oikawa stuttered as Hajime approached him, his brown eyes a tad too shiny, “you…I…” 

“I’m sorry,” Hajime began as soon as he was close enough. His fists clenched at his sides as he directed his gaze towards the ground. Now that he finally understood the reason behind Oikawa’s actions, the guilt slapped him hard like a flyswatter to an insect.

“What do you have to be sorry for? I’m the one who should be apologizing, I really was out of line…”

“Yeah, you really were.” Hajime interrupted. “But you never do things without a proper reason, and I can’t believe I didn’t notice it sooner.” 

“What are you-?”

"You were jealous, weren't you?" Hajime stated bluntly, raising his head to look up directly at Oikawa. Hajime believed that beating around the bush got nobody anywhere and that being upfront—even with sensitive topics—was the best way to solve a problem as quickly and cleanly as possible.

If Oikawa's jaw could drop any lower, it'd be on the floor right now. Hajime could see the cogs turning in his brain as he tried to find an appropriate response. However, Hajime was not going to give him a chance to refute.

"Don't even try to deny it. If you're jealous, just say so! Do you really think so lightly of our friendship, of me?" Hajime exploded, channeling all the hurt and angst he had felt into that one sentence. “Do you really have that little faith in me?”

“Of course I trust you, Iwa-chan, but you were dating her. I was only trying to be a good best friend, even though I hardly succeeded…” Oikawa said self-deprecatingly. “For that, I’m sorry.”

Hajime’s heart lurched. All this hurt and drama could have all been avoided if Hajime had paid more attention to Oikawa and actually noticed him; and that only solidified Hajime’s resolve to make amends. After all, Hajime would literally do anything for Oikawa…

Even if it meant shattering his own heart into pieces.

Looping his arms around Oikawa, Hajime pulled the taller boy down for a hug, inhaling the pleasant, familiar scent of body lotion. He felt Oikawa’s arms curl loosely around his waist and a mop of soft brown hair against his cheek.

“Shittykawa, you should have known better," Hajime muttered, hoping that the heat he felt at the tips of his ears weren't visible. "You should have told me properly instead of doing stupid tricks like these."

When they finally pulled apart, Oikawa broke into a small smile, relief evident in his eyes. It seemed that Hajime had hit the bull's-eye for this problem. He had finally figured out what the hell was up with Oikawa for the past few weeks! Hajime wanted to jump with joy.

“All right Iwa-chan." Oikawa started, his tone firmer, "since you put it like that, I have something I want to tell you." He ended his announcement with a wide, genuine smile.

Laughing, Hajime lightly slapped Oikawa on the shoulder. “A bit too late for that. Seriously though, I never thought the day would come when both of us are fighting over the same girl.” 

“What?” Oikawa let out, his smile visibly going stale. 

Confused by the sudden shift in mood, Hajime continued, ignoring the piercing throb in his chest as the words spilled out: “You have a crush on Michimiya, don’t you? That’s why you were jealous of me.” 

\-- TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tmw you realize you have the UKCAT tomorrow and hadn't even begun to study for it. I'm so fucked :')
> 
> Critique is welcomed always!


	9. Friendly Intervention

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It was stupid; this whole thing is a fucking sham. Iwaizumi’s trying to convince himself that he likes Michimiya, Oikawa’s practically brainwashing himself into not liking Iwaizumi, and now, there’s the thing with Michimiya. Merlin, where do I even start?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Cursing involved

“You have a crush on Michimiya, don’t you? That’s why you were jealous of me.” Iwaizumi had said, his voice brimming with so much confidence that Oikawa couldn't find it in him to deny it, no matter how untrue that statement was. 

“You caught me, Iwa-chan.” Oikawa had replied, injecting sheepishness into his voice. At that moment, to Oikawa, Iwaizumi’s wrong claim had seemed like a perfect out to this mess; and as long as Iwaizumi doesn’t catch on to Oikawa’s pathetic one-sided love for him, anything goes. 

“Why didn’t you say anything in the first place?” Iwaizumi had demanded, shaking Oikawa roughly by the shoulders. “I would never have dated her if you…” 

Oikawa had interrupted before Iwaizumi could finish, “really? You would give up the girl of your dreams all because I liked her too?” 

“Duh?” Iwaizumi had all but shouted. “I won’t let anything come between us, not even a girl. If you told me you liked her, I would have stepped aside! In fact, if it would make you feel better, I’ll break up with her.” 

Oikawa had searched Iwaizumi's eyes for hesitancy and deceit but had only been met with pure, unadulterated honesty. His heart had swelled with affection, and the rush of endorphins had almost been too much to bear. 

He had almost confessed then and there.

However, he was able to hold it in, because no matter how selfish Oikawa was he wouldn’t, couldn’t ask Iwaizumi to give up his girl for him. Iwaizumi had sacrificed so much for Oikawa over the years, and it’s time Oikawa returned the favour by being supportive of his relationship. 

“No, don’t. There’s no point in separating you both. Feelings can’t be forced.” Oikawa managed out, trying not to let the bitterness show. “If you like her, so be it…just, make sure she treats you well, okay?” He didn’t even need to ask Iwaizumi to do the same; anyone lucky enough to date him would be treated like a gem. 

Even now, Iwaizumi’s looking at him like he’s the only one that matters. A pang of jealousy hit him when he realized that it would be Michimiya, and not him, on the receiving end of that look in the future.

As much as it tore him to share his best friend with some other girl, he would, if that was what Iwaizumi wanted. 

“But you…” Iwaizumi had stuttered, clearly at a loss. Oikawa didn’t know whether to be offended that Iwaizumi had thought that he would seriously jeopardize his best friend’s relationship. 

“Yeah, I like her. So what?” Oikawa had said as blasé as he could. “I’ll get over it soon. You go and be happy…with her.” 

After all, if you love someone, let them go, right?

Iwaizumi had hesitated, eyes brimming with worry. “…You really mean it?” He had asked, his voice cracking.

“I mean it.” Oikawa had smiled brightly, pulling Iwaizumi into one last, desperate hug, drinking in his warmth, his scent, his energy. His expression temporarily masked by their position, Oikawa briefly allowed grief to consume him before reconstructing his mask. When he allowed Iwaizumi to see his face again, he was finally playing the part of a congratulatory best friend as opposed to jealous boyfriend-wannabe; a role he should have assumed since the beginning. 

“…And that means no more interrupting your lovey-dovey time either!” Oikawa had teased, nudging Iwaizumi. “Just make sure you use protection!” 

Iwaizumi had hit him over the head, and that was an indication that things had returned back to normal.

Tetsurou didn’t think so. If anything, the unbidden tension between his two friends had escalated, even if they hadn’t noticed it themselves.

Not to toot on his own horn, but Tetsurou had noticed the pining gazes the not-really couple threw at each other long before they were even conscious of it. From the longing gazes shot when the other wasn’t looking to the smiles that wordlessly conveyed the magnitude of their devotion, Tetsurou does not think that two people can love each other more than Oikawa and Iwaizumi. 

Two years ago, Tetsurou thought that it was cute.

Now, watching them interact sent prickles of frustration down to the very core of his being.

For lack of a better descriptor, Oikawa and Iwaizumi were soulmates. Tetsurou wasn’t a big fan of sappy romances, but he could see that there was something between the two boys that extended way beyond that of a best friend, even lovers. They supported each other, made each other a better person and compensated for what the other lacked, like yin and yang. 

He had always expected, wanted them to get together, which was why the introduction of Michimiya Yui as Iwaizumi’s girlfriend threw him for a loop.

Iwaizumi held no shred of romantic feelings for Michimiya, Tetsurou knew. Oikawa, being the blind dumbass he was, didn’t. With his judgment clouded by impatience—just kiss already you fucking idiots—Tetsurou had erred by egging Iwaizumi on in hopes that Oikawa’s jealousy would speed up the process. 

However, much to Tetsurou’s dismay and guilt, things did not go according to plan. 

When Oikawa had confided in him about his and Iwaizumi’s “reconciliation”, Tetsurou was upset, for both their sakes. He almost hexed him, almost slapped him, almost choked him, because merlin’s fucking underpants, why are you so stupid when it comes to Iwaizumi?

“It’s for the best,” Oikawa had said, a fake, brittle smile in place when he had told Tetsurou. “If you love someone, let them go, right?” 

Tetsurou had never counted to ten so fast in his life, Merlin bless him.

As frustrated as he had been, Tetsurou respected that he technically had no right to intervene any further. However, that had all gone out the window when he heard Oikawa sobbing heavily to himself in the shared bathroom in the wee hours of the night. 

Kuroo was not going to sit idly and let his two friends hurt each other over their own insecurities and sentimentalities. He was going to put an end to this madness once and for all. 

But first, he needed to plan.

**  
"Expecto Patronum" Oikawa cast, without much success, and proceeded to wave his wand around frenziedly, as if that'd somehow produce a corporeal Patronus.

“Oikawa…” Iwaizumi began, and when Oikawa turned around, the former quickly averted his eyes to the floor. “‘S nothing, sorry.” 

That caused Oikawa to bite his lip, looking as if he wanted to say something, before deciding against it. He turned back and resumed his aimless, unsuccessful casting of the Patronus charm, but in a more docile manner. 

Tetsurou sighed for the umpteenth time.

“With our current mood, there is no patronum to expecto, let’s call it a day, guys. ” 

Bokuto agreed wholeheartedly, having had depressing results with the charm due to the somber atmosphere of the room. At the direction they were going, they might have just undone all their hard work for the past month. 

“I guess there’s no point if our heart’s not in it.” Iwaizumi said, putting his wand back in his pocket. 

“Lucky Ukai’s not with us today, he might burst an artery or something.” Oikawa chuckled. He made to put his arm around Iwaizumi, but retracted his arm halfway through, awkwardly putting it in his pocket.

“Oi, Bokuto.” Tetsurou called as he cast a tempus, “what time are we meeting Akaashi for Quidditch?” 

“It’s, uh…” Bokuto fumbled, looking at the numbers materializing from the tip of Tetsurou’s wand, “in twenty minutes.” 

“We should get going then. Iwaizumi, Oikawa, wanna join us today?” 

As Tetsurou had predicted, both of them shook their heads. Perfect, once he got Bokuto and Akaashi alone, he can start discussing potential solutions to this messy problem. 

‘I’m sorry, Iwaizumi, Oikawa.’ Tetsurou thought to their turned backs, ‘it’s for your own good.’ 

Once they separated into two factions—Iwaizumi and Oikawa to the library, Tetsurou, and Bokuto to the Quidditch pitch, Tetsurou started thinking of ways to explain the problem to Bokuto in a simple, non-confusing way. 

They meandered through the corridors, Bokuto rambling on about the latest broom and Kuroo half-heartedly listening, when they heard shouting coming from a nearby classroom.

“Are you actually being fucking serious right now?!” Someone—a female—exclaimed, followed by sounds of something slamming onto a table. 

“Don’t talk to me like that, Kaori, how else am I supposed to get him?” An equally female voice responded defensively. Her high voice reverberated throughout the deserted corridor.

Tetsurou and Bokuto turned simultaneously to look at each other with curious looks and unanimously, wordlessly made the decision to check the situation out. They pressed themselves on either side of the doorway and listened in.

At first glance, it looked like two girls having a catfight. Tetsurou’s curiosity was piqued; the fact that they came all the way to this part of the castle, where a whole corridor of disused classrooms was, to have a conversation alone was enough. This area was the go-to place whenever people wanted privacy. It was why the four of them had picked this place to practice their spell work. 

For the girls to have come all this way, whatever they were discussing is most likely worth listening to. Tetsurou was sure that Bokuto had the same thought as him. 

‘Their fault for not casting a silencing charm,’ Tetsurou thought unabashedly, making himself comfortable. 

“There’s the usual way of getting him to notice you, like befriending him without using anyone? Why do you have to make things so complicated, and you’re hurting your boyfriend in the process too!” The girl called Kaori said. 

“I’m not making things complicated, this is the only way I could think of!” 

“But he likes you! You’re just going to cast him away after all he’s done for you and date his best friend instead?!”

Bokuto mouthed a ‘things are getting interesting’ to Tetsurou, and he responded with a muffled snigger. He craned his head in an attempt to see who the second girl was. 

The second girl remained quiet. 'Kaori' took the silence as an opportunity to continue her tirade.

“Do you honestly think Oikawa-san will date his best friend’s ex-girlfriend? What you’re doing is just wrong, and it’s not helping you any as well. Just call it off with him before it’s too late!” Kaori tried, her temper seemingly rising along with her voice. 

A sneaking suspicion told Tetsurou that he didn't even need to contort his neck in 101 angles to figure out the identity of the second girl.

“But it is working! Oikawa-kun knows more than my name now! He’s talked more to me over the past 3 weeks than he has the past four years combined!” The second girl cried, and it shot painfully into Tetsurou's eardrums. "Soon, he'll come to notice me as a lover!"

“Yui, I won’t stand around and watch you hurt either of them!"

That was the final nail in the coffin. ‘Yui’ for Michimiya Yui; that was who the second girl was. Chills crawled down the expanse of Tetsurou’s back, tensing his muscles. If this girl was Michimiya Yui, then the boy they were talking would have to be none other than…

“Why, is it because you like Iwaizumi-kun?”

Tetsurou shared a look of dawning horror with the silver-haired boy next to him. 

Feeling incipient rage bubbling in him faster than water in a teapot. He clenched his fists hard enough to feel his nails digging into his palms. 

“How dare that bitch!” Bokuto seethed from beside him, his canines showing. He made to stand up from his spot, but Tetsurou tackled him back down. 

“No, don’t.” 

“Why?!” Bokuto whispered furiously, “We need to teach that wrench a lesson!”

“Not yet. Let’s listen a bit more, then we tell Akaashi and figure out something from there, okay?” Tetsurou said, hoping that the mention of Akaashi would placate Bokuto. Luckily, it did. The manic gleam in Bokuto’s eyes subsided somewhat at his boyfriend’s name. 

“I never knew you were this kind of person," Kaori admitted. “I don’t have to like Iwaizumi-san that way to know that what you’re doing is wrong!”

Tetsurou heard Michimiya heave a sigh before continuing, her voice lilting in desperation, “Kaori, I didn’t tell you all this to have to judge me. This is the only way I can get Oikawa to notice me. I love him so, so much, you have no idea.”

There was a momentary silence before Michimiya followed up in a quieter, pleading tone "Please. I'm begging you. I need your help. I'll be indebted to you for life if it goes well, I'll even swear on my magic if I have to!"

“I…” Kaori hesitated. Tetsurou felt sorry for the girl, but if she involved herself, Tetsurou was not going to show her mercy, too; he would never allow those that hurt his friends to go unpunished. 

Tetsurou didn’t manage to catch Kaori’s assent or refusal, but from the sob and profuse gratitude that Michimiya let out, Tetsurou assumed that Michimiya got what she wanted. Iwaizumi and Oikawa were going to get the rug yanked from under their feet by this scheming, (obsessed) closet Oikawa fangirl, and Tetsurou did not like that one bit.

“Bo,” Tetsurou whispered, tugging on his robe, “let’s go before they find out.” Michimiya was now tightly embracing Kaori, signaling the end of their discussion. This meant that they were going to leave the room very, very soon.

Bokuto, however, appeared not to have heard him; if looks could kill, Michimiya would already be up in flames.

"Bo." Tetsurou repeated, slightly louder "calm down, we can get revenge on her later. We need to go now.” 

Bokuto reluctantly agreed, and the two of them crept away from the classroom as fast as they could. Tetsurou almost marveled at how careless the two girls were: no detection charms, no privacy charms, no Weasley’s Wizards Wheezes’ anti-spy products, nothing. It was like they wanted to be eavesdropped on. 

If Tetsurou were having a conversation of that nature, people would best be assured there be traps encompassing the area and at least a privacy charm cast. 

“What do we do now?” Bokuto asked the moment they were out of hearing range, still fuming from residual rage. 

 

Tetsurou sighed; this whole thing was more troublesome that its worth.  
“To begin with, I wanted them to break up anyway.” Tetsurou admitted, “The only thing that’s changed is that I feel less guilty.” 

“What! Why?”

"It's stupid; this whole thing is a sham. Iwaizumi’s trying to convince himself that he likes Michimiya, Oikawa’s practically brainwashing himself into not liking Iwaizumi, and now, there's the thing with Michimiya being secretly in love with Oikawa. Merlin, where do I even start?" Tetsurou let out a frustrated huff. 

"Does that have anything to do with that time me and Akaashi found Iwaizumi on the verge of a mental breakdown?" Bokuto asked, his brow furrowing. 

“Partially.” Tetsurou said curtly, “I’ll tell you later.”

When they arrived at the Quidditch pitch, Akaashi was already there doing warm-ups. The moment the raven caught sight of them, he stopped whatever he was doing and flew over, his brows furrowed.

"You're late." Akaashi said simply, hovering a few metres above them. "Care to explain why?"

Bokuto started blubbering, speaking about their startling new discovery of Michimiya with jumbled words that mostly eluded Tetsurou’s comprehension. In the midst of Bokuto’s less than stellar storytelling, Akaashi had hopped off his broom and was giving Bokuto a quizzical look. 

“Bokuto-san, please calm down and repeat everything that you have said.” 

Bokuto paused, took one look at Akaashi, and practically jumped onto him, muscular arms wrapping around him tightly as he bawled like a big baby.

“Akaazhi!! I’b so rucky to ‘ave yoo!” 

Even if he were Bokuto’s best friend, Tetsurou privately felt that Bokuto’s mood swings were bordering on extreme. First, he was mad, then he was contemplative, and now he was sad. Tetsurou shook his head in fond exasperation as he watched Bokuto bawl into Akaashi’s shoulder. 

Seeing as he wouldn’t be getting anything coherent from Bokuto anytime soon, Akaashi turned to face Tetsurou with a look of pure confusion that practically screamed ‘what in the actual hell is going on’. 

So Tetsurou passed on their alarming discovery to Akaashi as calmly and succinctly as he could. When he finished, the only outwardly signs of shock on Akaashi were his raised eyebrows. The rest of him remained impassive like they had been talking about what tonight's dinner menu. 

“If what you say is true, then this is quite the problem." Akaashi mused, absentmindedly patting Bokuto's head. At one point through Tetsurou's recount, they had settled down on the grass patch, and Bokuto had put his head on Akaashi’s lap. 

“Understatement.” Tetsurou snorted. “I actually wanted to break them up even before I knew this,” Tetsurou repeated for Akaashi’s benefit, “so I was thinking, and I have something that might work.” 

Akaashi and Bokuto turned to look at him simultaneously, curiosity lighting up in their eyes.

“You do?” Bokuto croaked, and Tetsurou smirked. 

TBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, It seems I didn't make it for the 1st of September. Happy '19 years later' peeps.


	10. Revisiting the Facts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Stop lying to yourself; you've been in love with him since forever, haven't you?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> University is tough; you think you have so much time, but in a blink of an eye, the semester is almost over ;;;;;; 
> 
> As always, don't hesitate to leave a comment/critique and please enjoy :)

With stacks of paper piled around him like a fortress sat Hajime in the courtyard one breezy Autumn afternoon, revising for the upcoming Potions practical on Monday. 

“Ashwinder eggs…when frozen, can be used for Love potions and Felix Felicis. Must be quickly added to avoid combustion.” Hajime read aloud to himself. 

Hajime stared miserably at the long list of common potion ingredients’ properties and how to use them; there was no way he could possibly memorize this whole thing by Monday! However, if he didn’t, and he screws up his potion, he would receive a big fat ‘T' and possibly some bodily harm in the form of melted skin. 

Why must Potions be a compulsory subject? They should have let him drop it after Second year, Hajime thought irately, it wasn’t like he was aspiring to be a Potioneer or an Auror. 

Still, the loom of his mother’s incessant nagging was enough of a motivator for Hajime to plough on with his overdue revision. He managed to reach a quarter way before he felt somebody approaching him, prompting him to look up. 

“Suzumeda-san, good afternoon.” Hajime greeted. 

“Iwaizumi-san, fancy seeing you here!” Suzumeda said cheerily, "Mind if I join?" 

Truth be told, Hajime wanted to be alone; he had always been someone who studied better by himself, but he didn't want to offend his classmate. Gesturing vaguely to the empty space next to him, he reluctantly invited her to sit, then went back to his notes. 

He was interrupted again when a steaming cup of liquid was handed to him from a thermos. 

“Here, have some tea. You look like you could use it.” Suzumeda offered, "tea helps with short-term memory, so it's good to have a cup during revision." 

"…Thank you, Suzumeda-san.” Hajime took the proffered cup and sipped it, relishing its soothing aroma. It vaguely smelled like fresh tea leaves, masked by a powerful minty scent. Hajime downed the entire cup and handed it back, the tea greatly reenergizing him. 

Thankfully, Suzumeda left him alone after that as they both delved into their revision, only moving when the need to stretch their legs arose. Hajime was able to ignore her presence entirely, focusing on cramming as many potion ingredient properties into his skull.

 

Maybe he was coming down with something.

After some time, Hajime felt hot all over, like he had been steaming inside a sauna, despite it being autumn. Beads of sweat pooled at his head and his armpits, and his clothes suddenly felt too thick. When the heat became too unbearable, he removed his sweater and unbuttoned his shirt.  
‘Lacewing flies…usually boiled or stewed before they’re used in…crap…’ Hajime blinked vigourously, trying to dispel the sudden dizziness.

‘Lacewing flies…’ Hajime tried again, but the overwhelming need to sleep was pulling his eyelids shut. His head lolled back, hitting the tree trunk he was leaning on and wow, isn't this the most comfortable tree trunk Hajime had ever leaned against in his entire life? 

His rational side griped; he was too behind to even consider taking a nap! But that was unequivocally shut down by his primal instincts to relieve himself of exhaustion. Discarding his notes to the side, Hajime succumbed to sleep, settling against the tree trunk.

**

The ground was shaking. 

Hajime's eyes snapped open in surprise, and he found that the ground wasn't actually shaking; it was him who was being forcibly awoken.

“Iwa-chan!” The first thing he saw was Oikawa’s face, his forehead creasing with worry.

“What!?” Hajime snapped, irritated at being awoken. His head pulsated slightly at being suddenly jerked out of sleep,his vision blur. 

“You…what are you doing with her?” It was not Oikawa who had asked that. Hajime blinked, having only just noticed Michimiya there, and was that Kuroo behind her? 

Wait, ‘her’?

Hajime suddenly became aware of a warm, weight on his lap when it moved slightly. He looked down to find Suzumeda stirring on his lap, probably having been awoken by their voices, and how the hell did this even happen? 

“Wait, this isn’t what it looks like!” Hajime said hastily. He winced; even to him, that sounded like a line from a grade C soap opera. But it was the truth! 

“Then why is your shirt undone? And your fly!” Michimiya countered. Hajime looked down to find that his shirt unbuttoned all the way, all creased and ruffled, and that his fly had indeed been undone. 

The shirt, he understood, but his zipper?

 

"No, really. We were just sleeping, I swear, nothing happened." Hajime tried earnestly, trying to convey as much sincerity as he could.

Michimiya began to say something, but was interrupted by a squeal from Suzumeda, who had realized the situation she was in. She immediately leapt away from Hajime, apologizing profusely for sleeping on him as she began…buttoning up her blouse.

Oh. 

Mortification rose to his face as he gaped at Suzumeda, who was in the process of smoothing her now fully-buttoned blouse. This was so, so wrong! For a horrifying second, Hajime thought he had somehow violated her in his sleep. But the fortress of papers and books in front of him had remained where they were before his nap, indicating that he had remained stationary. 

It could only mean that Suzumeda herself moved towards Hajime.

But why? And more importantly, why was her blouse half unbuttoned?

“How did you…we…become like this?” Hajime asked her tentatively. This was getting more confusing by the minute.

Instead of a verbal answer, Suzumeda let out a high “eep!”, looking back and forth between Michimiya and Hajime, before attempting to run away. 

“No you don’t!” Hajime heard Kuroo snap in a very uncharacteristic way before catching hold of her wrist and pushing her firmly back into a sitting position. “Suzumeda Kaori, you will stay here and explain to us how you and Iwaizumi got into this very compromising situation.” 

Hajime looked at Kuroo, confused by the amount of spite in his voice. Kuroo was a laid-back person, it normally took more than this to anger him; was Hajime perhaps missing something? His only comfort was that Oikawa looked as equally confused as him.

Suzumeda looked worriedly at a pissed off Kuroo and an expectant Michimiya. It was obvious that she wasn’t getting out of this unscathed, and while Hajime wasn’t the vengeful type, he too wanted an explanation.

“Can you leave me and Iwaizumi-san alone?”

“Why?” Michimiya asked sharply, pausing before continuing, “If you think I’m going to leave you alone with my boyfriend, you’ve got another thing coming.” Possessive and feral; It was like seeing a brand-new side of her, and it threw him for a loop. Hajime had never seen her outside of her sweet, kind-hearted side, but then again, considering the situation they were in, Hajime could make an exception. 

“I have something I want to say to Iwaizumi-san privately.” Suzumeda answered softly but resolutely, looking up to give Michimiya a bold stare. That seemed to provoke Michimiya. She swiftly stepped forward before grabbing Suzumeda by her top. 

"Don't you ever come near him, you hear me? You betrayed me, you have no right to make any demands!" Her voice was cold, harsh. She knelt down level to Suzumeda. Her Eyebrows creased, knuckles clasped tightly around the fabric, and she whispered brokenly,

“I thought we were friends” 

Ashamed, Suzumeda looked down, all the fight in her had been vacuumed away with that deathly blow, leaving her meek and pliant. “I…I’m sorry. I never wanted to—”

“Save your pitiful excuses and just get out of my sight.” Michimiya hissed, directing a steely gaze at her now former friend. The underlying threat in her tone sent waves of fear down Hajime’s back, sternly reminding him never to get on his girlfriend’s bad side. 

Suzumeda scampered away without aother word. 

A pregnant silence befell the group. 

“I can’t believe she’d betray me.” Michimiya said, crestfallen. Hajime's heart reached out to her; getting deceived by your best friend isn't something Hajime would wish upon even his worst enemy. Everything you've believed in, everything you think you knew about them was sent crumbling to dust, and you end up not being sure what to believe anymore. 

He stretched out his hand, gently touching Michimiya on the shoulder. 

She recoiled, and Hajime let her go so fast; it was as if he had been scorched.

“I…I’m sorry.” 

Without even giving Hajime the opportunity to respond, she ran off in the opposite direction. Hajime watched her go with half a mind to give chase, but eventually decided that even if he did, she wouldn’t want to see him right now. 

Kuroo bit his lip. 

“I’ll go and see how she’s doing?” Oikawa suggested after an awkward pause. For once, his usual cocky smile was absent, replaced by a frown. Hajime appreciated the fact that Oikawa had looked to him for approval before he went.

Hajime hesitated; this was the guy who, although first and foremost his best friend cum crush, had feelings for his girlfriend. His possessive side was screaming at him not to let them together without his supervision. 

But if he were to refuse he, would be the ultimate self-serving douchebag, the very antonym of what Hajime strived to become. 

“Yeah, you go.” Hajime relented. 

Yup, he decided. He could trust Oikawa. 

Watching Oikawa head to Michimiya’s general direction like a knight in shining armour, Hajime couldn’t help but feel a stab of jealousy, but not for the correct person. Though Hajime considered himself an independent person, who doesn’t want their love interest to worry over you once in a while? To comfort you when you’re feeling low? To be your pillar of strength when you feel like the whole world was against you?

“You okay?” Hajime almost forgot that Kuroo was there, and started when the taller boy plopped down beside him on the grass. 

In response, Hajime gave Kuroo a wry look that stated nope, he was certainly not okay.

“I guess not.” Kuroo chucked sardonically, playing with a blade of grass. “Say, I’ve been wanting to ask you something, ever since you started dating Michimiya.” 

“Shoot.” 

Kuroo stared at him dead in the eyes. 

“Why are you lying to yourself?”

Hajime winced. Blunt and straight to the point as always, Kuroo was. 

"What do you mean?" He feigned ignorance.

“I know you have feelings for Oikawa.” Kuroo said, tone heavy and serious. “Stop lying to yourself; you’ve been in love with him since forever, haven’t you?” 

Hajime was stunned into silence. In love with Oikawa, he said? 

Sure, he harboured a crush on the other boy, but love? Hajime knew that Kuroo doesn’t throw around the word ‘love’ carelessly, so why would he say that? 

He flipped through his memory photo album, trying to see if he could figure out what Kuroo meant. Involuntarily, he smiled. Okay, he was willing to admit that maybe he and Oikawa more often acted like an old married couple, but that alone doesn't mean love, does it? Wasn't it because they were so used to each other's presence, that a lack thereof would be atypical? 

"I do love him, but like a best friend, not as a lover. " Hajime lied, because he has too much at stake here to reveal his inclinations to anyone. It wasn't that he didn't trust Tetsurou, but the situation was too delicate, he didn't want to add fuel to fire.

Kuroo shook his head. 

"We both know you do, Iwaizumi. Don’t undersell your feelings for him or his feelings towards you."

"I'm not!" Hajime continued to deny. "He's just a precious childhood friend. We've known each other for ages! It's like you and Kenma, you love him, but only as a friend. It's the same thing! As for my crush, it'll go away soon, like any normal crush. "

“Kenma doesn't get jealous when I date someone else, nor would I if Kenma pursues someone." Kuroo stated simply, but its implications rang loud and clear, hitting a little too close to home.

Hajime winced, squashing the spark of hope that threatened to rise. That incident during Halloween was still clearly etched in his mind, serving a clear reminder that his crush will never work out.

“He likes Michimiya, that's why." That day left a bitter taste in his mouth, and was the reason why he didn't go on any more Hogsmeade dates with Michimiya. “He was jealous of me.” 

Kuroo made a frustrated noise, pinching his glabella.

“Besides,” Hajime continued, “I haven’t a chance with him, he’s straight. I’d rather not jeopardize our friendship, it’s already rocky enough with both of us going for the same girl, even though I don’t even…” Hajime trailed off, finding it too awkward to actually voice out the awkward love triangle they have going on.

Hajime didn’t know when exactly his platonic feelings for Oikawa had morphed into romantic ones, but he remembered crystal clear the day he finally realized his crush on his best friend. 

It was one of the most gratifying yet terrifying feelings he had experienced, waging an oxymoronic war of logic and emotions. He swore to himself that he’d never let his feelings get in the way of their friendship. 

It was precisely because he couldn’t afford to lose Oikawa that Hajime worked so hard to hide it.

Kuroo looked contemplative, probably searching for the right words to say. Hajime waited, his heart thudding. 

Finally, Kuroo said, “you think you both are going for the same girl.” 

Hajime waited some more, but Kuroo gave nothing more than that small piece of information, hung on the edge of the precipice. 

“What’re you-?” 

“I’m saying,” Kuroo interrupted, looking pained. “I can’t reveal too much, I’ve been promised into secrecy. But you should start looking outwards now instead of inwards. Things are not always what they seem.” 

Hajime gaped at him, all of his questions dying in his throat. Since when had Kuroo been so enigmatic? And what secrets was he talking about? 

His head hurt. Kuroo’s insight had opened up a closet full of unknowns that Hajime hadn’t even thought about previously. All of the bits and pieces that he had been given, Hajime tried to rearrange it to fit into the context. 

Kuroo said he was “promised into secrecy”, but by who? And what?

Kuroo hinted that Oikawa had been jealous, but not of Hajime. 

Kuroo said that Hajime thought they were both gunning for Michimiya, but things are not always what they seem.

Hajime may not know many things, but one thing he’s confident of was that he did not like Michimiya romantically. He thought Oikawa liked Michimiya, but what if Oikawa didn’t? 

And if he really didn't like her, why would he lie to Hajime?

It didn’t make sense, unless…

“Kuroo.” Hajime finally called, breaking the silence he hadn’t realized existed. “Can I just ask you just one thing?” 

Smiling lopsidedly, Kuroo nodded, giving Hajime his full attention. 

Hajime had a hunch, but it was something so unbelievable, so surreal, that he didn’t even dare venture. With this, everything that he had assumed, the very root of his emotional suffering would be rendered moot. 

He needed to know this, at least. 

“Do I…Do I have hope?” 

The world was monochrome and mute, save for the anxious palpitation of Hajime’s heart. His pupils dilated, focusing only on Kuroo, waiting for the answer that could change everything. 

Hajime was hyperaware of every movement, every twitch from Kuroo, even the steady rise and fall of his chest. Kuroo reached out, lightly grasping Hajime on the shoulder, and Hajime almost punches him, thinking it a gesture of pity…

Then he smiled, and Hajime's world is filled with colour again. 

**  
TBC


	11. Spirit Animal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the chances of being discovered were slim due to the fact that it was late night, it didn’t give Hajime the excuse to watch (read: ogle) Oikawa like a love-struck schoolboy.
> 
> But here he was.

Hajime didn’t consider himself a stalker.

 

He really didn’t.

 

Yet, he was unable to explain why on earth he was standing there, hiding behind a decorative pillar, watching Oikawa practice his spells from afar. He had been there for so long that, if someone were to discover him, it would be way too late to feign as a passer-by.

 

While the chances of being discovered were slim due to the fact that it was late night, it didn’t give Hajime the excuse to watch (read: ogle) Oikawa like a love-struck schoolboy. More importantly, it was his freaking job as the prefect on-duty to penalize anybody outside of their dormitory after hours, but here he was, secretly watching a perpetrator in the act.

 

Grow some balls Hajime, he internally scolded himself; aren’t you supposed to be a Gryffindor?

 

Maybe it was his reluctance to disturb Oikawa’s intense concentration, or his consternation from the incident with Suzumeda prior in the afternoon, but Hajime was just unable to approach him; his feet stopping even before he took the first step.

 

His conversation with Kuroo afterwards only added fuel to fire, and even now, his head hurt at the mere thought of it.

 

_Kuroo reached out, lightly grasping Hajime on the shoulder, and Hajime almost smacks him, thinking it a gesture of pity…_

_Then he smiled, and said, “You give yourself too little credit, Iwaizumi.”_

Hajime has still not figured out whether Kuroo’s words were meant to have a positive or negative connotation, and it left him even more confused than before; couldn’t Kuroo have given him a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer? Hajime disliked it when he people spoke to him in riddles.

 

“Expecto Patronum.” Hajime turned back to Oikawa, saw his eyes narrow with determination and sweat pooling on his face as he produced an incorporeal Patronus yet again. Baubles of light beamed at the tip of his wand, only to dissipate into mist.

 

Oikawa’s fists clenched and unclenched. He made to throw his wand down in a fit of anger, but managed to hold himself back.

 

If it were any other time, Hajime would have strode over, plucked his wand out of his hand, and sternly sent him back to bed. However, this was now, and it stands that Hajime was currently unable to act his normal self around Oikawa.

 

He looked on as Oikawa did some light stretches and cracked his joints, presumably to recollect himself before trying again. Hajime had no doubts that, if Oikawa were not to keel over from exhaustion, he would be here all night trying to produce a successful Patronus. This resilience was a trait that vexed Hajime for the sole reason that it was harmful for his health in the long run and was the cause of his many mini-heart attacks in the past.

 

Despite his unwillingness to face Oikawa, Hajime was not one to desert his friends, especially since said friend was a threat to himself. So Hajime sat, leaning against that dust-ridden pillar, and waited.

 

With nothing but hushed incantations filling the monotonous silence, Hajime began to doze off. Just a few minutes away from sleep, he was jolted by a high-pitched _caw_ that couldn’t have come from Oikawa.

 

Alert and his interest piqued, Hajime craned his neck over get a good look.

 

A translucent _peacock_ was at Oikawa’s feet, and it was big. For a good few seconds, there was no movement except for the heavy rise and fall of Oikawa’s chest as human and bird stared at each other, as if sizing the other up.

 

In a display of masculine pride, the peacock then spread its tail coverts, still making eye contact with Oikawa.

 

If it were not for its monochrome colour scheme, Iwaizumi thought that Oikawa’s peacock would be one of the most beautiful in existence: wispy, finger-like projectiles expanding like the sun, adorned with jagged, complimentary shapes almost cobweb-like. The way it carried itself, like the world owed it something, was bewitching in its own right. The excessive charisma and grandiose that radiated was uncannily similar to Oikawa on his arrogant, ~~unbearable~~ days.

In a sense, the there is no other Patronus more suited for Oikawa than the peacock.

 

A tinkle of laughter echoed in the empty corridor. With a radiant smile that sent Hajime’s heart into pitter-patter, Oikawa crouched down, extending his palm out in a wordless beckon.

 

The peacock let out another caw, more mellowed than the first. With its brilliant train still on display, it strode towards Oikawa with grace and poise akin to that of a prince.

 

“Hello. I’m Tooru, it’s very nice to meet you.” Oikawa greeted softly, gazing fondly at the peacock through half-lidded eyes.

 

The peacock let out a low rumble, spreading its wings for take off. In a flurry of translucent feathers, it circled around Oikawa, and then flew around the general vicinity.

 

Oikawa laughed as the peacock made its decent; landing right on his head without a care, and for once Oikawa wasn’t perturbed about the state of his hair. The sight was amusing yet adorable, it reminded Hajime of the time a baby owl had landed on Kuroo’s head.

 

Hajime suddenly felt the burning drive to produce a corporeal Patronus. Looking at Oikawa interact with his Patronus as if it were a pet made Hajime curious of his Patronus. What animal would it be? How would it act for the first time?

 

Before that, what happy moment would he need to relive to be able to produce something as magical as that peacock?

 

Hajime could list of a few memories he considered ‘happy’ at the top of his head, but was that enough? He knew a patronus required something precious, raw, and intense enough to drive the personification of depression away, along with a decent magic pool to tap upon; that’s what makes it so hard to produce a successful patronus.

 

It made him wonder what memory Oikawa recalled when he succeeded.

 

He took one last look at them and made to leave; Oikawa was most probably going back to the Slytherin dormitory now, and so concludes his job as babysitter. However, before he could disappear from the scene, the peacock turned its head…

 

And stared at Hajime right in the eye.

 

With his soul almost leaving his body in shock, Hajime almost tripped over himself in his haste to get away. Even when he was safely tucked away in bed, residual fear resulted in the elusion of sleep once again.

 

**

TBC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
